The Unforgiven
by a turkey
Summary: "Where am I?" was the first thought of the orphan kid. With a life of struggles, and country gearing up for war, the boy seeks his place in a brutal world where peace is a thin line ready to be cut. "Who am I? But above all else... who is he?" he asked. (This is an AU, so nor Naruto nor anyone from his gang is going to be the main character) (Fixed chapters 1&2)
1. Where Am I?

So, this is my first fanfic, wanted to try it out. Anyways I hope you feel intrigued by the plot in this first chapter, and especially the rest of the fanfic. There are numerous plots that contribute in this story but the main plot is hidden and I will leave only crumbles from time to time.

* * *

"Where am I?" Was the first thought of the young child as soon as he was awake. Lying with his face down he stretched his hands to his sides as he felt the cold and rough floor with its dirt imprinting on the young one's hands. The feelings and emotions started flooding in and he couldn't do nothing but feel sadness, regret…

Instincts kicked in, those human feelings were soon replaced with fear in the distraught and disturbed mind of the boy. "It's cold," he muttered under his breath as he started shivering. He never felt so lost, where was he? How many hours has he been out? Was all just a bad dream?

"No" he said as he watched the dried blood on his small knuckles, tears started rolling in his dirty cheeks proceeding to pound the cold, dark floor. He bit his inferior lip and dropped to the ground in a corner. When he started to move only then he realized his muscles ached and could barely walk, hell, even move; not only his muscles ached, but his head felt heavy and felt like he head-butted a concrete wall, to make things worse he felt exhausted, moving was proving to be a bigger challenge he had ever thought.

The boy's appearance was to say the least… a bloody mess, dirt covered important parts of his body intermixed with bruises and lacerations across his arms and face, the boy could have been easily mistaken as a beggar, this fact reinforced by the dark green rugged clothes he still wore that now were torn apart. He was white skinned with a peach tone, long black hair tied in a mullet type haircut which now looked almost gray and puffy with all the dust and lack of proper hygiene; his eyes were a prominent feature, not because of their size, no, they were normal ones, but their pigmentation was a dark green which turned to amber in the surroundings of the pupil.

The boy now focused on his surroundings, the place was dark but his eyes were already accustomed, he noted that the tiny bits of light were entering through some kind of ventilation in the wall near the roof, the walls and roof were made of the same hard stones of the floor with moss already growing in the ever humid weather of the village he was in. The room he was in was squared; with a perimeter of sixteen meters, bars were covering one of the four sides of the place. 'A cell?' thought scared the kid. He was in a miserable jail; to put things worse there wasn't even a dirty mattress, let alone a bed.

For the next few hours men were entering his cell and asked him some questions, some related to the incident previous to his blackout, some related towards his lineage, and some related to something called kekkei genkai. Of course the men weren't given the answers they needed, the kid was still stiffed with fear and the coldness these men were emanating with their very voices made the kid ignore their questions. 'Are they shinobi?' thought once he saw their headbands with a metal plate and a symbol on it resembling two mountains. His quietness was met with physical punishment by the men, which made him even more scared. "P-please l-let me go, I don't know n-nothing, p-please s-stop hurting me," he pleaded between his sobs as he covered his head and face with his arms in a futile attempt to protect himself.

You enjoying beating and abusing a young kid? Makes you feel you have balls that are absent when you fight someone your own size?" said a hard but peaceful voice outside the cell.

One of the men turned his back to answer the defying stranger, "Careful Satoi, you forget whom you are talking to" said with a degree of disdain and venom in his voice as he omitted the honorifics towards the stranger now identified as Satoi.

The man who turned defiantly to Satoi was a man with fair skin, a scar trailed through his right cheek, his eyes were brown in contrast with his black hair, he wore a flak jacket oddly similar to the Suna shinobi just with shorter shoulder pads.

"Humph you are just dog under the one who holds the leash" answered bluntly Satoi. When the rest of the shinobi on the cell turned on to see the newcomer the kid saw a glimpse of what Satoi looked like. He measured roughly 180 cm (5'11) with broad shoulders, tanned skin, narrow brown eyes, and a black hair folded in a single and short ponytail on the backside of his head: he sported a his facial features were hard, but calmed, with a strong looking jaw and a cold look that were enough to say that this guy was someone to not mess with. "Besides, I was sent here as well to…" he proceeded to bent a little his head to get a clear view of the child "…learn more of this little incident."

"The council sent you? How do I not know you're only going to use it for your benefits."

"Think what you want lap dog," the scarred man only gritted his teeth at the arrogance of this man. Satoi proceeded to pull out a signed scroll from his white and red robe. "Here's the order from the council, as for Takeshi-sama" he almost spat at the honorific he was giving to the man. "He has no say on this. Inside you will find details, as for the boy, he is no longer of your concern Aoi."

 _'What? Has Takeshi-sama gone mad? Allowing to leave this on the hands of a glory hunter hermit and putting us on the margin?!'_ the man now identified as Aoi. As soon as he was blitzkrieging with thoughts on his mind Satoi threw him the scroll, at this Aoi just frowned as soon as he catched it and made a sign to his men to abandon the 'interview'. When he stepped outside the cell it took every ounce of will to not rip Satoi to pieces because of this one line, "Good dog."

The boy was oblivious to the recent dialogue and only thought this man was just the same as the others, he would question him then beat him. He heard the cell door closing; they were the only two souls on the room. Not daring to look at Satoi in the eyes, there were some silent seconds in which Satoi analyzed every cubic centimeter of the kid, _'This kid is in bad shape.'_

"You must be thirsty," The kid sent him a side glance with glints of fear coupled with hope of getting something to drink, his belly started grumbling as well. "And hungry by the looks of it." said Satoi with a smile so comforting that the boy's features loosened in a sign of easiness and tranquility.

Satoi proceeded to take out a canteen full of water and a piece of bread. He couldn't hold a smile when the kid's eyes illuminated at the sight of food. He held out for the kid to take it, "Here, take it." the boy hesitated for a second but this man seemed trustworthy, his smiles warmed him from the cold gazes of the previous men.

"T-thank you sir."

"My pleasure." Satoi waited for the kid to finish his meal. "Would you mind telling your name? I'm Satoi by the way."

The boy felt unsure if he should tell him his name, but he was alone and so far this man was the opposite of the other men, what would he lose? "K-Kaito… H-Himura Kaito."

"Kaito hmm…" said Satoi reflexively. "Do you know why you're here kid?"

"W-why?" said the young one with his dirty hands clutched together. Even though he asked why, he knows why he's there, the memory was fragmented but those fragments were still fresh, the pure innocence of the boy made him deny to acknowledge anything related to the incident.

"The gold mine number 3 in the northwest of the village collapsed but not by natural means, someone did it, the problem is that out of all the miners and supervisors no one survived, no one but you" Kaito felt a shiver run through his spine.

"Luck? Maybe, but the spooky thing is that there are signs of struggle, not just because of the terrain, the terrain is full of rubble, but it also looked like the site of a rampage. I'm not accusing you, but I need to know everything you got.

"Please, leave me alone, I… I just want to leave here"

This was getting hard, Satoi just rubbed his chin, the dried blood on his knuckles was a thing he didn't missed as well as the red spots on what was left of his rugged clothes, combined with the strange change of behavior made him conclude. This kid managed to kill at the very least a dozen grown men on his own, the rest probably died on the collapse though it was only one of many other possibilities this was the more plausible, it matched the evidence and facts. "Easy, I mean no harm, after all you're still a kid."

A sigh was heard from where Satoi was standing, "Why were you there?

"I-I worked there for a year with- with my f-family"

 _'This kid survived a year on those mines, probably sold illegally as a slave.'_ He inclined himself to sit beside Kaito against the cold moist wall. "How old are you kid?"

"S-seven."

"Seven…" Satoi chuckled to himself in disbelief that a seven-year-old kid went through hell and back and survived. "Life hasn't gone easy on you kiddo," Kaito bit his lip again trying to contain the tears.

"Why did you kill them Kaito-san?" that question struck home hard and Kaito felt as his heart stopped and his eyes opened at the out of the blue question.

"You don't seem the type of kid who go on rampages, there was some reason, or someone forced you to do it?"

"T-they killed them…" almost as a whisper lost in the wind.

"What?" Saito sent a questioning glance at Kaito who was getting back on his feet.

"My mother and little sister… they killed them!" screamed Kaito. Satoi was taken aback by the sudden outburst of rage whose scream was echoing through the halls of the empty section of the jail. _'W-what is this feeling,'_ asked Satoi in his mind to no one, _'His chakra is soaring up for a little kid like him.'_

Kaito was realizing what was going on and as soon as he burst out he calmed down.

 _'I'm not gonna put him more questions, the poor soul is already broken'_

"I-I'm sorry sir, I don't know what happened… I-I'm scared, I-I feel as I'm no longer myself" The kid just dropped to the floor.

 _'If Takeshi puts his hands on him… no, I won't let that happen.'_ Satoi made a decision.

"Come with me kid." Saito was already backing on his feet cleaning of the dust in his robe.

"W-what? W-where?"

"To my temple," said Satoi bluntly, he won't care what the fuck-face will say when he gets this kid under his care.

"W-why?" Kaito was expectant, he was already alone so did it matter where he'd go?

Satoi turned his back to face him with a hardened look, "To train you."

* * *

So first chapter, what do you think of it as a prologue? Next chapters will be longer, I promise.

I don't really know how regularly I'm gonna publish chapters, they will depend on the mood and how much work do I have on the day.

Leave reviews with full constructivism.

(I noticed there was an error in chapters 1 and 2, so sorry for that, I don't know what happened, but, its fixed. Props and kudos to the guy/lady who told me about it, kudos indeed.)


	2. Jackals

Second chapter, this one serves as a background to the new Village I'm introducing as well as how it's run and who are the prominent people, it's location is the country between Otogakure and Takigakure, the reason why I chose this land is because I want to take advantage of the lack of information of this land. I'm adding some new stuff as well, kekkei genkais, characters, events that doesn't occur in canon, even jutsus.

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It was said by the people that Takeshi was the one who held the true power on Yamagakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Mountains), the one who held the unconditional last word. That was far from the truth, the Civilian Council was the one who held power, unlike the ways of the Great Shinobi Powers were there was a Kage present with the role of maintaining order, mobilizing troops, and other responsibilities expected from a monarch-like figure, Yamagakure was much more democratic. The Council consisted in clan leaders, prestigious people, leaders of shinobi divisions and people with enough influence on the decisions of the Council. Even though their ways were dictated by democracy, Takeshi was a special case; his high rank in the Council seat was no mere coincidence, the man was a military genius and a favorite by the people in the village, no, in the whole country. In the eve of the Third Shinobi World War there were a few naïve persons who really thought their country would last in a neutral state through the war. Eventually Yamagakure was drawn in the war and allied itself with Konoha, but due to its limited military it could not compete in the long term with the likes of Iwagakure, their closest and most dangerous enemy. Their profit was coming in the production and sales of provisions to Konoha, but even that was not going to last.

The whole Mountain Country was in the brink of chaos, Konoha could no longer send military support. They were alone. Then a man rose between the members of the Council and led a campaign in a nearly impossible goal. Takeshi strategically pushed back Iwagakure in heroic victories and a few pyrrhic defeats that he managed to use to his advantage. But even after a close victory, the cost was dear, entire towns and forests were burned, natural resources were scarce, the once green country was a pile of smoke and ash. For this he could not forget, nor forgive. His influence was increased vastly and used it to implement a near fascist system to rapidly heal the economy and boost the military. Years have passed and Yamagakure was strong like never before.

But, in the midst of his glory there was man responsible for it, the one who could single-handedly defeat an army of hundreds, Satoi. To say they weren't friends was a lie, they were closer than one could imagine; Takeshi held the honor to have been called brother by Satoi. But after the war the two man's visions on how to deal with the precarious situation of their country was like Ying and Yang, opposite. Takeshi had been affected so vastly. Frictions between the two occurred as Satoi criticized Takeshi's nearly fascist system and revenge plans. Satoi had been aggravated for the drastical change in his friend, conversations now were fights, memories faded; it wasn't long until he realized his friend just turned into someone he knew.

Satoi itself was a walking legend, his prowess in combat made him a popular figure and his devotion to the well being of the people earned him a love and respect greater even than Takeshi. Of course as expected, Takeshi didn't take nicely the newfound love for the man as he thought it could turn against him some time in the future.

When the curious case of the mines reached Takeshi's ears he quickly sent his own men to investigate the area and question witnesses, if there were any. The details of the report were rather odd and the survival of only one young child made the situation just a bit off. He wanted to anticipate the Council's reaction and made his own men question this boy. Of course, the Council did not take well the lone action of Takeshi and sent Satoi as he had a more gentle touch than Takeshi's brutes. The only option for Takeshi was to accept reluctantly, Satoi was a rival in the ideology and politics of the village. Now he only waited impatiently Satoi's report on his wooden desk tapping mercilessly at the polished wood with his fingers while watching the sun set in the horizon. Not only was this case making him anxious, he has plans and he only needed the old fools at the Council to begin preparations and of course, the approval of the accursed daimyo.

Satoi left Kaito at an inn with a friend of his that accompanied him on the trips to the village; the boy needed some sleep while he attended the Council's meeting at dusk.

"Keep an eye on him."

"Two eyes," Satoi just smiled at the reply and moved on to the Council's Office. As he walked down the streets he felt the cold breeze strike on his neck and watched the clear sky of dusk, it always brought such calmness to him that he just wanted to meditate and relax to the sound of birds already flying to their nests and crickets beginning their song like a chore.

The Office looked like a fort, with thick strong and tall architecture made up of granite. A 20-meter stonewall surrounded the round complex at the foot of a mountain range, at the exterior there was a small river with a Japanese-looking bridge connecting both sides, giving it some aesthetical look.

'Security isn't softening'. Jōnin were stationed at every corner, watching even the smallest insect, every person that got close without identification would be arrested for trespassing. Satoi went through the typical identification process and his chakra examined by sensor type nin to make sure he is not an impostor. The interior was beautiful with a stone path covered up in moss leading to different parts of the complex medium sized stones older than the first inhabitants of the region and as sacred as the Rikudō Sennin covered many parts of the green garden of the place; to the left there was a warehouse and a barracks where some shinobi spend their free hours training, to the right there was a lagoon right below a waterfall whose origins began with the melting snow of the top of the mountains, next to it there was a cave like entrance to the cellar, Kami knows where it leads to.

Satoi stepped inside of the main building and climbed to the fourth floor. Once he made it a pass a hall with good looking sculptures of past heroes he was met by a 3-meter door with two silver mountain lions facing one another printed on the hard dark wood. He sighed and only hoped that all goes well. He opened the heavy door with a steady hand while the other grabbed its belt. They were there, the arrogant, the idiots, the ignorant and him. The room was long, with stone pillars supporting the weight of the roof located equitably on the sides and a single crimson upholstered table. A wide curved window was located in the opposite side of the room giving clear view of the village and adjacent landscape. Torches were beginning to lighten up as the sun hide itself. One notable feature was the two statues at each side of the table, resembling two men staring at each other, standing one sided in opposite direction of one another, like a mirror.

"Hope I'm not interrupting something". Satoi tried to break the ice as all gazes stopped on him.

"You're late". Said with incredible indifference one of the oldest members, Hitoshi, an old wrinkled man with a shaved face and barely any hair that wasn't white, his hard grey eyes never leaving his gaze towards Satoi.

"Yeah, well, I still had to take care of something". Satoi adopted a firm posture with his arms folded.

"I hope it's related to the little task you were given" Said Takeshi calmly. "But first sit, we were discussing the trade negotiations with the Land of Sound."

Satoi sat beside an old comrade he knew during his times as Genin called Kerouri, he had baldhead and a tanned skin darker than Satoi, like bronze. A scar run through his left eye, which was already blinded, his remaining eye was brown. He wore an armored version of a regular flak jacket with metal shoulder pads and knee guards. "Did I miss anything important?' asked Satoi in a low tone.

"Nah, just boring chitchat about the new Village in the Land of Sound, Otogakure they're called, apparently the trade income with them would be more profitable than invading them." Said Kerouri.

Satoi just lost the notion of time; it seemed like an eternity was spent talking about political matters. It was boring, but he was wary on the intentions of some greedy bastards.

It wouldn't be long until they reached the case concerning the kid, he just hoped for the best-case scenario.

"A brief matter was discussed earlier at noon, concerning a little boy and an 'accident', tell us what you got Satoi-dono." Spoke Hitoshi with a hoarse voice.

"When I met the boy I encountered Takeshi-dono's shinobi being… a bit rough in their talks with the kid. Once I got to be alone with him I found that this boy is quiet, Kaito is his name; he didn't want to talk about what happened at the mines, nor anything from himself, he just lay sitting on the ground evading my gaze as with fear that I might discover something-"

"So, the kid is hiding something." Interrupted the clan leader of the Yamauchi, one of the most prominent families in Yamagakure, a fair skinned man with waist length brown hair and a slender build, he wore a white robe with a hakama.

"At least he tried to, his weird behavior and aversion to speaking about the case was making me think." Resumed Satoi with closed ayes as if he was trying to find reason in something.

The members of the Council were already building the idea Satoi was going to. But they haven't processed it yet.

"You don't think that boy-"

"Is the responsible for the collapse and mutilation of who knows how many men? Yeah, a bit crazy, I even have trouble believing it myself."

"How can you confirm this?" asked a bit dumbstruck Takeshi.

"I saw the dried blood on his clothes and hands, his chakra spiked for a child of his age, he even told me."

Mumbling was heard on the chamber, the members were trying to process the situation.

Hitoshi was quick in thought and asked before anyone else with indeed curiosity and greed. "Is he a jinchūriki?"

Satoi looked the look on his eyes and just crossed his arms. "I do not know, time will tell."

"Where does he come from?" asked a member.

"He told me his family name was Himura, I won't blame you if you don't know much about this clan, that clan is long gone and the remnants prior to their fall went into hiding, pretty much like the Uzumaki. There is not much information about them, they originate from the Fire Country and to my knowledge possessed two kekkei genkai's, but only one is currently known, the Kesshōton (Plasma Release) (1). The kid probably comes from the Fire Country, he probably ended up with human traffickers and one of the mining companies made illegal business and bought him and his family, he stated he arrived one year ago."

"Family?" asked Kerouri.

"Yes, his mother and a little sister, both dead." This whole deal was going to be problematic, Takeshi would want him on the Village's academy and then shipped off to his own ANBU division, most council members would be reluctant to let Takeshi gain another asset, the man was gaining to much power.

Satoi thought that the boy is best sent to the Temple of the Sacred Band to train, he has potential to mold himself into a fine warrior, there he could be guided and could serve as a much better shinobi for the Village and the country. He only hoped that the request was easily handled. Satoi just agreed that this was indeed troublesome. And every Nara in Konoha sneezed throughout the night.

"But the question still remains, how did a little boy ripped to pieces several men and collapse a damn mine?" Spoke with a moderate and impatient tone Takeshi. "You're not missing details are you? I can see where you want this going, that boy is going nowhere." Takeshi was almost on his feet with a steady hand on the table.

"You don't have right to decide what to do with the boy, he won't be your toy," Satoi kept a calm posture, but all that rant made his gaze go stone cold and a frown was beginning to form on his face.

"What would you do then Satoi-dono?" Said neutraly with a deep voice another clan leader.

"The boy has potential, I can see it, but such potential cannot be wasted on an ordinary academy."

"You plan to make him a shinobi of the Sacred Band?" asked another member.

"Yes." Plain answer, simple and direct. At these matters the Council was more lenient at the requests of Satoi, he gave too much for the village and asked little in return, not to mention his popularity among the people. It was funny how the other members cared little about the dead and the mine, they were expendable for them, for Takeshi, this boy was worth more than the mine he just collapsed, this kind of thoughts made Satoi sick.

Another mumbling was heard, even though the Sacred Band was loyal to Yamagakure and the country, there were some people who saw them as outsiders, foreigners, and the Council wasn't an exception. The atmosphere was getting thicker in contrast to the cold air that was filling the chamber.

Hitoshi wanted to end this quickly and called for a vote. It lasted at most five minutes, most members knew that if the boy stayed in the village he would end up on Takeshi's hands, the man was too powerful. In the end Satoi just relaxed his shoulders at the result but he was still was waiting for Takeshi's reaction, waiting like a time bomb.

"Could we see the boy first?" asked Hideki, one of Takeshi's sympathizers and the man in charge of the economy. A mustache decorated his smug white face and his onyx eyes deceiving as his smile.

"The boy just lost his family and went through a traumatic experience, he needs psychiatric treatment" Satoi responded severely at the mustached man.

"Smh, Satoi, always the kind, you forget sometimes what you are," spat Takeshi, with an ironic side smile. "Psychiatric treatment." Takeshi just snorted at his comment.

"Maybe he's not the only one..." mocked Satoi.

"Quit it, both of you!" It was interesting to see Hitoshi speak loudly, he just couldn't take anymore of this personal nonsense. "The boy, Kaito, you can take him, end of the case."

"Thank you Hitoshi-dono" said Satoi with a menacing glance at Takeshi who was equally doing the same.

"The conference just ended, until next meeting" announced Hitoshi.

Satoi was happy all ended well and proceeded to go to the inn where he left Kaito.

"All people were standing up and ready to go to their homes. But not Takeshi he needed to talk with some people.

It was late in the night, and Takeshi just watched the moon from his office's balcony, hearing the sounds of the people roaming the streets and the sounds of nature.

The creaking sounds of his door sounded and 3 pairs of feet stepped into the room. The clean faced Kaede Yamauchi, the smug Hideki, and the loyal Aoi Iron Fist.

"No one else is coming?" asked with an arched brow Yamauchi.

"Others are notified, don't worry" said Hideki with a hand rubbing his shaved chin. "What are you thinking, Takeshi-dono?"

Hideki was answered with sound of crickets, Takeshi was an enigmatic man, he hadn't even moved his head to look at them as they entered.

"By Kami, I hate Iwagakure..." said to no one in particular Takeshi.

"My father hated them too, even before they gouged his eyes and ripped his tongue out." Said Aoi leaning against a wall.

"A common shared feeling I take?" said Hideki while looking at strange devices on Takeshi's wooden desk.

"Their influence on Takigakure is notorious. Takigakure is more daring every day passes," said Yamauchi.

I'm in my position at the Council for a good reason. Yamagakure needs a strong position among other nations, it seems they forgot what we are capable of. We are the true winners of the Third War, we are the reason Konoha is intact, we held our own against two powers. Our village deserves respect. Hmph Takigakure, they put themselves above Yamagakure and they hate us, I'm gonna give them a reason to hate soon enough. This war will not last long, and when I'm finished bringing order to their filthy lands I've got plans. In time I will have to deal with my rivals, the Council, old fools who would keep their positions at the cost of Yamagakure's honor, Satoi, he will have what he deserves, that drunken bastard in the capital; and the other shinobi powers as well, Kumogakure, arrogant bastards! They look down upon us and mock us; Kirigakure, they don't stop putting their cowardly noses where they're not called; Sunagakure, sand eater weaklings! Iwagakure, his Kage prostitutes himself with mercenaries, honor less bastards. And Konohagakure, trash! They have no respect for proper shinobi ways, for us! Yes, the dead call for blood and I know what must be done."

* * *

Shit will happen and Takeshi is not in the mood, next chapter I'll go back to Kaito's part and how he gets used to the new stuff he is introduced.

(x) I'll use these to explain stuff that is new or isn't explained in a proper way, be it cannon or not.

(1) Yes, I invented it, I thought that it would be really cool to see some plasma jutsus, or abilities. Besides I've never seen anyone doing a plasma release in a fanfic.

Note: I don't like doing OP characters without proper build up or good background. Shit like "He was so fast that he even was a blur to the sharingan" is no just no, it gets me on my nerves, or shit like rinnegan Naruto is just way too OP that it just rips the magic and suspense of a story because you will know that Naruto/OP character, will win. Don't get me wrong, in the future there will be crazy-ass people with tremendous powers ( and they will have them for good reason! No random or poorly build up bullshit), but they wouldn't be as OP because there are others who counterbalance it. That's it for my rant, *sigh* I just had to say that...

Well, hope you liked it.


	3. Two and a half Men

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...

"Dialogue"

 _'Thoughts'_

 _Flashback_

 _"Dialogue in the flashback"_

* * *

The air stenched to greasy steaks, grilled onions, stews and salted fish, the very grease was felt in the air, you could even taste it. The songs played by bards were accompanied by hysterical laughs and drunken competitions of sake and chintashu; travelers, mercenaries, bounty hunters, and prostitutes were not a rare sight. The light of the place came mostly from candles and torches as the windows were small and scarce, still it made no difference whether it was night or day. The place had three floors with a balcony on the second one. The first floor was used mainly for drinking and eating, and it could be rented for wedding parties and other things. The second and third floors were where the rented bedrooms were located. This place was an example of the culture of this country.

Kaito was feasting himself with anything he could get hands on, fried chicken, smashed potatoes, grilled leeks and salmon, he couldn't remember if he had a bite like this in his life. ' _He must've been hungry'_ thought the man called Shizou, he was in his mid-twenties, olive skinned, brown eyes and dark spiky hair, his mouth area was covered by a goatee type of beard; his clothing consisted in a dark blue kimono with a black hakama hiding underneath a katana.

Kaito was just too focused on the food oblivious that he was just emptying Shizou's wallet. But Shizou was only staring and contemplating how happy the boy was now, just like anything had ever happened and he just concealed in his own world and just focused on eating, he smiled at the grotesque spectacle that would've disgusted someone with manners.

Just as he was finishing a leg of chicken he sucked his greasy fingers and just lay on his seat with his hands on his now full belly followed by a burp. The boy was smiling now. "Thank you, uhm… mister…" Kaito just scratched the back of his head as he now realized he didn't know the man's name.

He chuckled under his breath, "Shizou, call me Shizou". It was amazing how quickly the boy's attitude changed. When Satoi-sama dropped by the inn it he was surprised to see a sleeping kid flung on his shoulder as if he was a sack of grain, the kid's appearance was deplorable to say the least. Satoi-sama explained the situation to him and as soon as he arrived he left for a meeting on the Council's compound. Kaito, as he was called, just slept for a few more hours on Shizou's bed, he only awoke due to an empty stomach. When Shizou found him awake he tried to test the waters and to his surprise the boy was quiet, _really_ quiet, not crying or whimpering like he did on the cells, just a gray and indifferent face, but it was funny from time to time because Kaito wanted to conceal his hunger by being aloof but his hunger made him make some funny faces, he couldn't blame him, he was a total stranger to him. Shizou watched as Kaito's stomach just roared

" _Want something to eat?" Kaito's face turned with an interested look on the man, although he was more interested in his words._

" _You have food?" asked Kaito a little gleeful._

" _I could get you some."_

 _Kaito just smiled wide, "Y-yes please!"._

Shizou had ordered for two people, he severely underestimated the hunger of this particular little kid. "More please!" said Kaito as he nearly choked on a fishbone. The bowls were piling up until reaching five bowls. The kid's manners were despicable and Shizou was a little shocked with the grotesque spectacle at first but he just forgot about it when he saw how happy Kaito was now.

"Shizou-san?" asked Kaito.

"Yes Kaito-kun?"

"What are those?" Kaito pointed with his index finger at a corner where four bards were playing and singing songs.

"Those are bards, they are unique to this country, you won't find them in other countries frequently, they are usually poets or storytellers and they compose songs about those poems and stories. They do it usually for those on noble-lineage, but there are other who like to travel." Said Shizou as he watched every living thing in the inn in any case they got too close to Kaito, the boy was attracting some eyes already, his previous food show, his rugged and dirty clothes, and the fact he is a child was gaining some attention. Shizou had one hand at the handle of his katana just in case.

"Well little man, it seems you really need yourself a bath, you reek" said Shizou in a comical way with the fingers of his free hand squeezing his nostrils. Kaito just giggled and looked upon his clothes. Shizou paid the food hoping his trip's money wasn't drained that bad. On his way up he looked to see in a window on the stairs that the sky was already black pitched with stars and a beautiful half moon. ' _He should arrive at any minute'._ Kaito went to a bathtub in the bathroom of the rented room of Satoi and Shizou, Shizou just heated the water and handled him some soap and shampoo, he then proceeded to go out in the balcony and stare at an ominous shadow that was the mountain, all while listening to crickets and other insects.

He enjoyed coming down to the village even if it's a six-hour trip. Training twenty years in a temple roughly 2500 meters (7000 feet) above sea level expanded and improved the efficiency of your lungs due to air being scarcer, to then come down 300 meters above sea level felt really good, he felt lighter; he enjoyed interacting with the people, walk through market districts, enjoy the beautiful gardens and watch bards play, that way he felt he was still connected to the village that saw him born.

Shizou was an orphan; he never knew his parents and lived with his already deceased aunt. His proficiency in the academy led him to being recruited early for the Sacred Band by the recommendation of Satoi-sama's instructor, sensei and mentor, Endo, that man was an example of honor and discipline, he has carried the job of instructor for almost 30 years and never got tired of it; if someone knew how to train warriors, it was him. He wondered what would happen to Kaito, would he come with them to the temple? ' _If he is coming with us, I'll pity him'_ thought Shizou, but without ill intentions, he just remembered how were the first years, ' _Hell'._

* * *

Satoi didn't hurry himself towards the inn where he left Shizou guarding the boy; he just pulled out a toothpick and put his hands on his pockets. The air was getting colder but he didn't notice, up in the mountain was a lot colder, not that he complained though, he hated the heat of summer midday in the village. Sometimes some people would look at him and stared with awe, some greeted him and others handled him gifts, he politely rejected them not because he disliked it but because he thought it was absurd for them to waste resources on him.

"Look it's Hundred-Eyes"

"Satoi-sama, it's an honor having you in the village"

'Hundred-Eyes' was a popular nickname, for the locals, and foreigners alike. He gained that nickname due to his incredible perception, capable outmatching and outsmarting sensor types of the likes of the Hyuuga's for example. He could feel every current of air flowing in any area, the slightest touch of the smallest current caused by a movement would bring his attention, his sight was like that of a hawk's capable of bringing incredible detail to anything although not as close as the sharingan. The vibrations in the earth could be sensed with the utmost detail as if echolocation, his hearing was that of a feline and a sense of smell that would be impressive to any Inuzuka. His senses were so well developed and trained that it was impossible to ambush him, let alone get close without him noticing.

On the way he noticed how tense Takeshi was in the meeting, it was foolish to think he would be so agitated just because he lost a promising boy. No, there was something else to that; most likely it wasn't discussed in the meeting as he looked at ease with matters previous to Kaito. Satoi bit harder the tip of his toothpick making the other tip almost touch his nose.

When he arrived at the three story tall inn he preferred to stray from the drunk and not-too-friendly-looking people. The first impression of him was the smell of meat coming from the inside and even more when he opened the door and all the greasy and hot air stroked him hard in the face making an uncomfortable sensation. Some people recognized him and called him, some even challenged him.

"Hey isn't that the famous Hundred-Eyes everyone's been pissing about?" asked a Suna shinobi with a beer on a table accompanied by two other Suna nin.

"Well he matches the description, plus everyone here seems to recognize him," said another with sake almost reaching his lips before emptying the vase in one sip.

The other one was just staring at him, not in awe but with curiosity, however he was listening to his teammates conversation. He looked at the one who talked first and saw a look in his eyes. "What are your thoughts?"

"My thoughts?" He smirked; "I bet he is a sissy, like the rest of this third world village," said loud enough for only his teammates hear. "I bet he isn't that big of a deal."

"He is the leader of the Sacred Band!" hushed the wary one, "Don't you know who they are?"

"Stories," spat the arrogant Suna shinobi, "and full of bullshit if you ask me," he took another sip of his beer, "I'll show ya."

"No! Don't…"

"Relax, it'll be a friendly contest," interrupted the plea of his teammate to not do anything stupid.

Satoi had ordered hot sake first before going up to his room, just to relax him and make sleep come faster. Even before he finished his third drink someone came to him.

"Hey you," said someone behind his back, "are you the famous Hundred-Eyes?"

Satoi just ignored him and kept drinking as if only a fly passed by, fools like this usually left after you ignored them. Two, three seconds passed and the Suna nin just heard the sound of sake going down his throat.

"Answer me!" said louder the anonymous person.

"What if I am?" said Satoi with his back still turned to the random guy. He took another sip of his drink.

"Heh, everyone's heard about someone called Hundred-Eyes, a man who can make disappear entire shinobi battalions with ease, a man who can see like the byakugan and predict like the sharingan,"

Satoi hated those kinds of rumors; they usually exaggerated a bit and were common bases for urban legends. He stood from his seat and turned on to face his new particular company. He wore a headwear, a white turban, on his right shoulder was Suna's symbol incrusted in the cloth, he wore the typical brownish flak jacket of the ninja of that country.

Satoi frowned "What's it to you?"

"I want to test the… veracity of those rumors, don't worry it will be a friendly contest," the sand nin just closed his eyes and smirked.

"Not interested," said Satoi and just went to the stairs with an aloof expression. "Better go and challenge some genin, they are more enthusiastic than me."

An 'x' shaped vein marked on the forehead of the sand nin, he was rejected and compared to some genin scum, of course, Satoi meant it with more innocent intentions. But what can you expect from fools apart from them doing something foolish? The sand nin charged without warning with a kunai on his right hand with the intent of stabbing it on Satoi's neck.

Satoi sensed the air revolting heavily and with amazing speed, someone was moving his direction with a very fast speed. With amazing timing he turned his body 90 degrees anti clockwise and grabbed the man's hand and forearm and twisted it outwards, similar to a nikkyo (1). The resulting movement was so fast for the suna nin that he heard something crack and in a blink of an eye he saw Satoi at his left side with his hand and forearm bent in an unnatural way, causing him to drop the kunai even before he felt the pain.

Satoi left the grip and knocked him out with a fast chop to the neck. His other teammates just stood there paralyzed, not knowing what to do, it all happened too fast, even for them.

Satoi put his hands on his hip and just stared at the knocked out man, with a look that mixed deception and pity. "Sometimes they learn the hard way… oh well," and as fast as all occurred, he was gone upstairs. The commotion was brief and everyone resumed their drinking, laughing and singing. He didn't even bother to report that someone tried to kill him; it would be just very troublesome.

Once upstairs he entered the room and noticed that the balcony's door was opened and there was steam coming out from the bathroom, he noticed that Shizou was outside. He stepped into the balcony and felt the fresh air touch his skin with the smell of wet grass and wood.

Shizou was leaning on the balustrade, "Ah, sensei, you returned, so how'd it go?" he asked with a smile.

"Well, you could say… at first it was boring administration matters, trade agreements, finances, nothing special or concerning," Satoi looked straight to the stars and a feel of loneliness and curiosity filled his mind, the feel of being small and fragile was something that passed his mind. "On brief, the only thing it should matter is Kaito."

"What did they say about the matter?" asked a bit hesitantly Shizou. Not that he was attached to the boy but he did find him interesting.

Still holding on to his toothpick, Satoi answered, "as expected, Takeshi inquired about him as well as his friends, but leaving it short, the Council agreed to get him trained on the temple."

A little smile was drawn on Shizou's face, "how do you feel about it, sensei?"

"Hm, ehm I don't know, the boy is still shrouded in mystery, it would be troublesome to wake up and find a crazed jinchūriki on a rampage on the temple."

"Jinchūriki?" Shizou was shocked with those words, "Is he…? I mean, what bijū?"

"Relax, we don't know yet if he is one of the poor damned souls that have to carry those beasts, although it could be possible considering the damage he dealt yesterday," Satoi wanted to investigate to see if the boy was indeed a jinchūriki, he would need to 'trigger' some responses to confirm suspicions.

"There was something else, Takeshi was a bit agitated, I don't know, he is planning something or at least he knows something we don't."

"What's your guess sensei?"

"Possibilities are many, but knowing how tense are the relations with Takigakure, my guess is that he is starting to make preparations for war," Satoi was worried of the future of this village, he wanted for the future a peaceful life, far away from the pain and grief of war that saw so many innocents suffer and transform themselves to monsters so they could survive in a hard world. He wanted an end to the endless cycle of hate, suffering and revenge. "He'll still need the Daimyo's approval though, but if he manages to get him on his side."

"We would be choice less huh? Sometimes I feel we are the whores of the battlefield for Yamagakure," in that, Satoi couldn't agree more, but in a way that statement applied to almost every shinobi in the world, where everyone fights for someone they barely know and are victims just because of some old man's whims.

"Imagine seeing the leaders of their village fighting their own battles, that would be a sight," continued Shizou with irony.

"Indeed, but as the saying says, the elder prepare the war and the youth die in it," Satoi just watched the sky as he was looking for answers. They were a tiny speck in the universe, and they trouble themselves with trivial matters, those were Satoi's thoughts at the moment.

* * *

Kaito took of his rugged clothes, his muscles still ached and the bruises prevented him from doing certain movements but that didn't stop him as he splashed himself with a giggle into the bathtub making the water overflow outside the tub. The feel of warm water relaxed his muscles and calmed the pain from his bruises.

"Ahh," Kaito felt really good, his muscles relaxed so much that the lactic acid was spreading thin and as a result he felt rejuvenated. He felt for once in a good time, a sense of calmness, he ate as a king, he was having a good bath since a long time, he had two nice and friendly men accompanying him, and lastly he was sure that he would sleep minimum 'till 12 p.m in a comfy bed.

He rubbed on himself soap and washed his hair with the shampoo that Shizou gave him, making the water murkier. ' _Satoi-san said he would bring me to a temple to train, am I going to be a shinobi?'_ Kaito began reflexing with his index finger on his mouth while his eyes were staring at the ceiling, as if he was trying to solve a really hard puzzle, ' _that would be so cool!'_ his eyes illuminated with a smile and innocence proper of a seven-year old boy. He took his clothes and started rubbing them aswell with the water and soap, making the water even murkier, they looked now gray-ish white with shades of a darker grey. As he began racing on the future possibilities of him being a ninja he slowly deviated to memories and the inevitable happened, he stumbled upon memories he didn't want to remember, he didn't want to experience pain. "Kaa-chan, nii-chan…"

 _It was an old and small house; the very entrance itself was in a 5x7 meters room that was the kitchen, the dining room and the living room all together, at the left side of the entrance there was narrow yet short corridor that served as the "basement" and where a washer was located. On the adjacent side of it, opposite to the entrance, there was the only bedroom and bathroom, there were two beds and one nightstand. There were two large windows by a corner where one could see the street._

' _Konoha…'_ thought Kaito, he didn't remember much of that village, most of what he knew about it came from his mother, she always talked about Konoha as a wonderful place, the buildings, the people, the Hokage, even the carved faces on the mountain, _that_ he remembered the most of Konoha, the four faces of the previous Hokage, imposing and watchful with their hard stone faces, Kaito was scared of those faces. He proceeded to hung his torn clothes on a string above his head with a clip he found nearby.

 _It was nighttime but Kaito was really curious about a voice he heard outside. It was raining and thundering, his mother was reading a book; her sister was playing with a ragdoll._

 _He went to the window and pulled the curtains to see who was the strange voice; a person seated against the window met him, he had what appeared to be an afro, the clothes were unrecognizable. When Kaito pulled the curtains the light from inside alerted the man of his presence, he slowly turned his head like an automaton until he met his gaze with Kaito's, what shocked Kaito was that not even with light the clothes recognizable, even the face was dark like night, not even the eyes shined, like his own humanity absorbed the light. They stood there, face-to-face, inches away and separated by only 2 cm of glass. They stood there in what seemed like an eternity, he began to feel scared by the ominous look and presence of the face-less man, only his mother's intervention dropped him out of trance as she pulled him in and shut the curtains._

" _What were you thinking?!" she was obviously scared, her little boy just met a stranger just by their window with a creepy-ass look, "don't ever do that again, even less when it's night" she looked back the place where her son was seated, the adrenalin was still circulating her body. 'He was probably a homeless man' she thought but it was strange, homeless people were a very rare sight in Konoha, that without mentioning that the Hokage made everything he could so everyone in the village had a roof over their heads._

 _Kaito didn't sleep well that night, he just remembered the encounter over and over, what struck him was the face, he couldn't see the face, not a single glimmer of light reflecting on the man's eyes, just plain darkness as if the man was a shadow with form. Who was he? Why couldn't he see his face? Why did he stare at him like that?_

That man left a deep mark in him, he would randomly remember that man in future days and ask himself over and over the same questions, who was he and why couldn't he see his face, it wasn't a trauma, but it was a mark he could not remove.

Kaito was beginning to feel asleep on the tub, the water was cooling and the steam was condensing into drops of water that stuck on the walls and mirror of the bathroom. He proceeded to drain the water and dry himself with a towel; his clothes were not fully dried but he didn't liked to sleep naked.

"Oh you're back, we were getting worried kiddo, you really took your time there," said Satoi with his toothpick on a seat with a small table by his side, Shizou was there too, laid on his bed reading some book.

"Satoi-san, you're back!" said Kaito while stepping onto the room.

"'Course I am kiddo," he took notice of the change in appearance of Kaito, while the bruises were still there he noticed the change of complexion in him, his skin was fairer and more white and his hair was dark as a raven's plumage, his clothes changed as well, "looks that you cleaned your clothes but they're not fully dried, come here"

Kaito obeyed and Satoi proceeded to put his hand on his chest and use his chakra to haul the water to a specific point and then pulling it out, between his hands was a ball of water and he dropped it outside the balcony. Kaito was amazed by the trick.

"That was amazing sir!" he didn't held back his impression at all. His clothes now felt fully dried.

"Relax kiddo that was nothing," said Satoi with a swaying hand. "We also set out for the temple, I expect to be there by dusk."

Shizou turned to see his sensei, "So soon? Because of Kaito-kun?"

"That and I want to get the hell out of here as soon as possible, there are too many vultures in this village."

He looked the clothes Kaito was wearing, "if you're going to train with us you'll need a nicer and better outfit, so let's say, we get you some clothes tomorrow, go to the temple and maybe take lunch on the way, for now you can use that rag as a pajama," he pointed to his chest.

"Y-yes sir."

Kaito looked to his left side and noticed there were only two beds.

"E-excuse me, Satoi-san, where am I going to sleep?"

Satoi looked briefly to the two beds, "if you want you can keep my bed kid," he sighed.

"You won't be bothered sir?"

"Nah, I'll manage," this boy was just too nice, he'll need to cut off so many formalities, not only for his good but it was a bit irritating.

Kaito got on the bed and he was out in no time. It was kind of comforting watching him sleep.

"At least admit it, its kinda cute seeing him sleep like this," said Shizou in his bed not taking his eyes off the book.

"That's what's worrying me, the kid is too soft and emotionally unstable," said Satoi from his seat with his eyes fixed on the sleeping boy, "he'll need to change soon or the world will hit him hard and true."

After a few minutes Satoi pulled out a pipe from his robe and lit it on, smoking wasn't his habit, but it made him feel at ease. "Now that I think off, I haven't asked you, how was your day with the kid?"

Shizou lowered a bit his book and looked up to the roof with a chuckle. "I've got to say sensei, he has one hell of an appetite."

* * *

The morning light was beginning to show on the horizon, the birds were already flapping his wings and singing for potential partners, the roosters could be heard as if they were on the very ceiling of the place and the air was damp, covering with little drops of water the windows, the wood, the stone and the grass. Satoi was on a lotus position, was he meditating for the full night or just sleeping no one knew, but he was the first to get up and took a shower. He dressed up with a black cotton undervest, mesh armor, and some thin underpants; next he pulled from a sealing scroll knee guards, greaves, gauntlets, shoulder pads and a simple chest plate that covered his upper torso, all pieces made of steel. He put on a a white kimono-shirt over it with a black hakama donning the lower side of the body. On his waist he put his katana and kunai-shuriken pouch.

Shizou was up next and followed almost the same procedure of his sensei, the only thing he changed was the clothing, he wore a blue haori with a hakama of the same color..

And Kaito, well, he looked the same as yesterday, he had a bit of trouble getting up which annoyed Satoi to no ends, Shizou just laughed. As the three got finally ready they got some simple breakfast downstairs. It looked a lot emptier and quieter than the night before. They all had scrambled eggs, rice, miso soup and some tea.

The breakfast was quiet and brief, Kaito still hadn't fully awoken, he had bags on his eyes and threatened to fall asleep on the table, couldn't resist the urges and closed his eyes and a moments later he started snoring with saliva coming out from his mouth. "What a mess of a kid," said Satoi.

Satoi got up and went to the innkeeper to handle the keys and pay for the breakfast.

"Time to go?" said Shizou shaking off the dust in his clothes.

"Yeah, let's get this kid some clothes first," Satoi then walked by Kaito and slightly moved the arm that was supporting Kaito's head causing him to fall from his chair and bite the dust of the floor.

"Ahh, omph..." the bump his head received was enough to wake him completely, "hey!"

"Hey what? This is gonna be your routine from now on, cope with it" said Satoi bluntly, if the boy needed some rack to get some discipline then he was all for it. However Kaito just gulped and his eyes were more opened.

They got out and followed a dirt path to their left, the sun was barely above the mountains so it was approximately 9 o'clock.

Kaito was just admiring the village, since he arrived he was located on the lowest districts and never had a chance of a proper walk through the village and yesterday he was asleep on Satoi's shoulder and only met the inn. There was green all over the place, tall trees decorated both sides of the roads with their branches making it look like a fantasy tunnel, the houses were all stone made, three floors and windows with a rhomboid shape, their shape was squared-like and the roofs were a deep dark brown, such architecture was unusual for such a japanese-oriented world (2), it was old, but solid and resistant to the effects of time. Gardens were a common sight to the right side with little lakes and shallows, bushes and flowers sprang around the lakes forming circular patterns, there were benches to let the people enjoy the place.

After a fifteen minute walk they arrived at what it seemed a huge squared complex, the walls were made of concrete, painted white with red trussed roofs of timber; the walls were easily as tall as the three story stone houses, beyond it there was huge building with the same appearance as the walls, it was supported by columns and looked like it was at the center, it was easily the tallest and biggest building in Yamagakure from base to top.

Kaito was agazed by the sight, "What is that?".

"That's the Market District, be close, you can get lost and all sorts of people inhabit there," said Satoi already pulling out a toothpick.

"Wow," said Kaito still looking at the big structure that dwarfed the walls that surrounded it, he noted that many people were coming in and out like bees on a honeycomb. "There's a lot of people around it, is that thing that important?

Shizou chuckled, "You see Kaito-kun, this place is one of the biggest sites of commerce that exist, many people from all nations come here to negotiate, be it to sell, to buy or establish business with other people, that's called trade rights," said Shizou in a calm and educative manner. "Anyway, here you can find almost anything, from a simple sack of rice, to a bizarre yet expensive souvenir."

"Even weapons?" Kaito was getting really curious at what kind of stuff he could find there.

"Yes, especially weapons."

"Don't get any ideas kid, you're not old enough to have your own weapons, we're only here to get you some clothes and move on," the air while still fresh, was beginning to heat slowly.

The entrance was wide and on the sides there were peddlers doing their cheap and loud merchandise of their equally sheepishly and cheap products. The entrance of the district was a tall and white arch with each column as thick as one of the houses and were separated by 10 meters of space. In the interior was chaotic, there were tons of people, dirt was lifted from the ground making dirt clouds, the air was hotter than outside and movement sometimes was hard. There were shops all over and those unfortunate sellers that couldn't find a spot made stands in the middle, and they were not a few. There were a few restaurants too which gave the air a scent of delicious food.

They proceeded to the right and entered a section of clothing, Satoi wasn't going to go shopping so he picked the first place he saw, the place wasn't bad, it had a variety of clothes of various sizes.

"Go on kid, pick anything you like."

"Heh, sure," Kaito ran to try clothes.

"You're gonna trust his sense of fashion?" said with a grin Shizou.

"That's the last thing I care about, if he picks up something ridiculous I'll let him learn on his own how to dress properly."

Kaito tried some short sleeved shirts and kimono shirts but he got his attention on a grey short sleeved with a v-neck shirt, and a black sleeveless keikogi opened in a similar fashion to the shirt underneath with a crimson belt at the waist, for the feet he picked some blue navy sandals like the shinobi usually wore. He looked himself in a mirror with the clothing on, it felt really good and comfortable, plus he liked it, he _really_ liked it.

"Satoi-san," he called the no-fooling-around man, "I think I want this one."

Satoi looked at his new attire, "You think?"

"I-I _want_ this one," even though Satoi was a nice man, boy he was strict and serious, he sometimes gave the chills to Kaito.

"That's better, that will be your first lesson from me, never doubt, be always determined and always have your mind made up," said Satoi while looking down at the boy, Kaito reached only two inches above his waist.

"Y-yes sir." Kaito went rigid.

Shizou just grinned again, he thought it was funny how Satoi was so serious around Kaito.

Satoi looked back at Shizou with a questioning glare, ' _What the hell are you smiling at?'_ Shizou flinched and dropped the grin and turned his gaze towards other costumes.

"By the way kid, yes, I do think it looks good on you," said Satoi with a side glance, always with his aloof mood.

Kaito relaxed his shoulders and looked up to his face as if he didn't understood what he said, and a second later he opened his mouth and gave him a heart-warming smile.

"How much for the thing?" asked Satoi to the shopkeeper.

They were out and Kaito was happy with his new outfit, the rag he wore was now on a bag that will serve as a pajama for the meantime.

They walked towards the west gate of the village in a 40 minute walk. Once they reached the gate they met with a 30 meter wall in a design very similar to the Great Wall of China, however, unlike the real-life one this one just encircled the village, the gate itself was made with the same durable wood that the Council Chamber, only this one was much thicker and the ornaments resembled a silver eagle with the wings spread open.

The gate itself was opened and they walked out of the village. There were two roads, one going down to another valley to the left and to the right it went up the mountain.

Moss covered it everything, the trees were blocking some of the sun's light and the road was becoming more and more lush each step they went up. The amount of life on the surroundings beats them all, diverse bird singing and the amount of noises the surrounding trees made with their leafs. Kaito saw glimpses of animals he never seen before, after an hour he spotted a fox with the fur dark as the bark of the trees running across the pathway.

There were times where the road was getting narrower and more sloped these were the times where Kaito struggled.

"Keep going kid, the road gets tougher later on," said Satoi, he looked a bit distracted as was enjoying the sounds of nature reaching his ears as the smell of polem.

At one point the road suddenly got wet and sticky so they walked with more care.

It was way past midday and Kaito's belly started rumbling, pleading for food; he looked to his belly and put his hands on it.

"Don't worry there's a place to eat close by," said Satoi.

The place was small and was on the left side of the road, it was a popular place for the travelers as it was in between Yamagakure and the Sacred Band's temple. They went in and sat in a long table, a waitress came and picked out their order. Satoi was in for a surprise.

The food was diverse, gyozas, teriyaki chicken, mongolian beef, sashimi, steamed rice and ramen. Kaito steamrolled any food he put his hands on, albeit with a lot more decency than last time. Still it made Satoi just sweat drop and look the culinary spectacle that this kid was doing.

"More please!" said Kaito at least three times, the poor waitress just looked astonished and disgusted at how much this kid could eat.

When he was finished with his third bowl of ramen Satoi couldn't take anymore, he didn't have all the money in the world to please this kid. "ENOUGH!"

Kaito just looked at him a bit surprised but then smiled, "don't worry sir, I just finished, the food was delicious by the way, thanks!"

Satoi just looked him unbelieving that a 7-year old kid could eat like that, (lucky he hasn't known Naruto and the way he eats ramen).

Shizou just kept eating his own portion in silence, he was starting to get used to it, although it still surprised him a bit. Satoi at the end paid more than he expected to and kept going with the other two in silence. The road was getting sloppy and wet. The air was also more damp than down there.

Kaito felt immediately how the air was getting colder and colder, his own sweat was ice-cold, but that's not the worse part. If walking up the mountain before was hard and tiring this was just insane. He felt how his lungs burned, three steps and he was winded, the very action of breathing was difficult, the air was thinnier than down there which meant less oxygen.

"Be careful Kaito-kun, if you exert yourself too hard you will pass out, you are not yet accostumed to this heights yet," said Shizou behind him, if anything he could take him and carry him in case he fainted due to lack of oxigen.

Indeed, Kaito felt dizzy and the very steps he made were heavier and heavier. To his luck the road was no longer sloped which let him take some rest.

They were reaching the top of the mountain range, the vegetation was really weird (3) it was nothing like Kaito ever saw. Mist was starting to form up altogether with the starting setting of the sun, dusk was near. The road then turned from sloppy dirt to stone, the stone was covered in moss and was formed in rectangle shapes. They walked through a canyon looking entrance, at both sides there where statues on a squared base, old and covered in moss and other vegetation, they represented someone clad in armor like a samurai holding downwards a spear. They looked intimidating, more with their three meter height. Inwards they stumbled upon rugged terrain with huge rocks and cliffs spread at random locations.

"How much longer?" asked Kaito, even though he was no longer climbing up, his lungs still needed rest.

"We're close," said Satoi.

A few miles later the mist revealed a wide and arched bridge, beyond it there were structures that resembled towers, when close enough it revealed buildings and structures embedded into the mountain itself in an asymmetrical fashion, in design they looked similar to the houses or the Council Chamber in Yamagakure, only this looked even older and much more robust. The entrance itself was an 8 meter gate embedded into the rocky foundations of the mountain as if the gate was leading it directly to the inside of the mountain, in the upper part there were what seemed runes encrypted in the stone, figures that resembled men, wolves, deer, eagles and monster like creatures were carved in the rock, there were statues all over the structure, men, gargoyles, lions, even a centaur could be distinguished.

Kaito had no words for this, his mind was too young to process the aesthetic beauty of this. The sun already set on the west and the stars were making their appearance on the night sky.

"Is this it?" asked Kaito mindlessly.

"Yes," Satoi turned to him and gave him his aloof look as usual, "from now on I'm Satoi-sensei for you."

* * *

That's it for chapter 3, hope you liked it, leave a review, suggestions are well appreciated.

(1) Nikkyo is a stretching exercise and a technique in Aikido, basically it consist of twisting the forearm and the hand/wrist in opposite directions, trust me, it hurts like hell.

(2) Imagine like the shapes of mayan architecture, that's how I picture it.

(3) The lands that surround that part of the country are based of Scottish and Andean highlands. In the latter, there are ecosystems that are so high, so cold and so humid that they resemble an alpine tundra, these are called 'Paramos', look up pictures so you can see the type of plants that inhabit there.

Note: the Sacred Band of Yamagakure are based of the Sacred Band of Thebes and the Sacred Band of Carthage, both were elite groups of soldiers committed for their nations cause, they weren't regular troops and were more like their own institution.


	4. The Sangaku Temple

Quietness, silence was the only thing that persisted in the rough walls of the bedroom. He didn't want to get up, were it for him he would stay to marvel on the sweet silence in the cold morning and just warm himself with his blanket on his bed. The thought of getting up was such a nuisance, but he couldn't wait, Satoi-sensei said he would tour him through the place and if he weren't already up by then he would surely miss breakfast.

Kaito started to get up, the wooden bed started to creak slightly at the sudden movements. The air was colder, _much_ colder than in the village, the feeling on his skin gave him goose bumps. His vision tried to adjust to his surroundings. The room was for two located at the servant's quarters, two beds were located at each side of the room and in between them lay a nightstand with a rather unique look, the drawers were gold and the rest of it was a bright grey; above the nightstand there was a window facing the east, mountains and mist covering the lower parts, was all that could be seen.

Just in the moment Satoi entered the room. "Ah, you're up, good, go and fetch your clothes and a towel," Kaito complied and felt the cold rough floor on his feet as he made contact with it, he put on some sandals and went to a wardrobe in front of his bed and fetched his clothes and a towel.

"What time is it Satoi-sensei?" asked Kaito followed by a yawn while rubbing his eyes.

"Six in the morning, come, I'm taking you to the hot springs."

The halls of the temple were tall, wide; torches adorned the walls as well as some carvings of the same nature as the ones in the Gateway, at some sections appeared windows facing the mountains and little valleys that lay at the base of the mountains.

The trip was a bit brief, at one point in the maze of halls they were in; they turned left and encountered an arched entrance that led directly to the baths. Kaito followed Satoi through the men's section of the baths towards a dressing room, after picking a locker they went into the hot spring. The hot pool was located in the outside, with a clear astonishing view towards what seemed a plateau with a forest that extended beyond the horizon. Ornaments were on the sides of the pool; sculptures like a Buddha, and bonsai trees were the most common type. To the left was a tall wall that separated the men from the women, curious enough it also sported bronze lion heads with their mouths spread open were water poured into the pool as part of some cleaning system.

The few people that were present greeted Satoi bowing their heads as respect, the men's bodies were very well toned, if not bulky they were slim but athletic bodies. When their eyes fell upon the kid, they looked him with curious gazes; Satoi was soon questioned about it.

"Satoi-sama, who is this kid? I do not recall him being in the younglings."

"I-I am…" Kaito was starting to shy.

"His name is Kaito, the circumstances of his inclusion are… complicated, confidential, I am aware he was not on the list but I think I can make an exception," said Satoi. "We'll talk about it later."

"As you will Satoi-sama," they decided to not press the matter.

They paid no mind to Kaito, in fact, none of the Sacred Band shinobi paid no mind to recruits, be it younglings or older, they had to know, endure and suffer the rigorous life that was put in front of them. The children had to survive the training; if weakness was shown, they were dropped, if they were susceptible to an unstable mind, they were dropped, if they faced death they were alone, they have to survive or die. Those who volunteer later in life had it different than the children, even though the training was brutal, they had to gain acceptance from the members, for in their eyes they were a bunch of ignorant and incompetent fools, they were mocked and scorned… until they have proven themselves worthy, a deed not achieved by many.

The first thing that shocked Kaito was the number of scars on the other men's bodies, numerous and horrid, Satoi alone had two times more scars than his own age on the torso. They ranged from simple and small cuts to ones that extended from the chest to the abdomen. But there was one in particular that stood out from the rest, it seemed like mark of some sort that was located in his left pectoral, it was circular, with an unrecognizable character, or form in the center.

They passed the next twenty minutes relaxing as they graced themselves with the hot water and filled their noses with steam and smell of sulfur of the hot spring. The bird's chants along with the sound of the trees leafs helped too, it was very tempting to close eyes and fall asleep with such ambient. However they had to fill their stomachs and commence the tour. Back to the dressing room Kaito dressed himself with the attire that Satoi bought him yesterday, he still rejoiced at the soft feeling of the cloth.

"Sir-I mean, sensei," Kaito started while rubbing his towel on his hair.

"Yes?"

"When did you got all of those scars?" it wasn't a question born out of fear of getting scarred, but mere curiosity, after all he didn't know much about his new sensei's past.

Satoi pondered a moment on the question; his usual stoic look softened a little and felt an urge to run his fingers across the ugliest of gashes he received through time. "I gained them, a long time ago, the most recent probably a year or two," he didn't know with certainty, not that he didn't care, but over time you just forget, you get used to it, "and the oldest, I gained it when I was your age, thirty three years ago."

"Did you fight in any wars?" said Kaito while they were leaving for the dining hall.

"I've found myself entangled in two of them, The War of a Thousand Days, and the Third Shinobi World War."

"That's where you got your scars?"

"Most of them, but some were before that."

Kaito was intrigued by a sight not long ago, "I saw an interesting scar, it wasn't like the other ones, it seemed different from the others, like a mark, why is it different?" Satoi felt a little chill run through his spine by the question of this kid.

"Why?" Satoi sighed at the memories, he didn't feel regret, nor remorse, nor pity, but he did remember the chilling cold that ran through his veins to the very marrow of his bones of that moment, it didn't matter how hardened he was now, he couldn't help but think how frail and innocent he was back then. He was pretty much like Kaito right now, at least for the time being. "I've fought all my life since I was born, I've known no family other than the one I have now, the answer to that question would be better answered when you're older, by then, you would know half the answer on your own."

Kaito was a bit stunted by the reaction of his serious sensei, "how?"

"You'll see," said Satoi.

The rest of the trip was in silence; the smell of staunch meat, eggs and fresh rice indicated they were getting closer. Kaito feasted himself on bread, hard cheese and scrambled eggs with a jug of juice to wash it down, Satoi for his own part stayed content with a tomato broth with red meat and a bowl of rice to accompany. The dining hall was a big place, the roof as well as the columns that filled the place in a symmetrical way to support the weight of the roof was carved right off the mountain, six rows of long tables were spread horizontally across the dining hall and at the far side was the kitchen and close by was the cellar; it was a brighter place than the rest of the temple, people crowded this place and filled it with laughter, stories, boasts, songs and poetry, unlike some common tavern in this place there was no room for insults, only camaraderie, friendship.

There were four entrances, one from the servant's quarters, other from the hot springs, other from the barracks and the last to the temple plaza. Once finished their meals Kaito and Satoi took their leave and went out to the temple plaza. 'Temple' was a formal way of calling it, for this was not a temple but more like a heavily fortified village, a castle akin to those of old times; what made it different from a common shinobi village is a bit complex. First, the entire populace of the village was a fighting force, which means every man and woman capable of holding a meager knife was an experienced and seasoned killer who must take up arms when commanded by the Shunin (Head of the organization). Second, property is of the Sacred Band as a whole and not of an individual as such, bed, tools, food, etc. Only limited things can be of private property. Third, absence of the basics of a proper government, the Sacred Band acts as a military institution therefore commerce, trading, migration and other things does not work as such or isn't even available, therefore it means that the Sacred Band are financed by the government of Yamagakure. It's not the gold that keeps the Sacred Band in check and loyal, it is honor, honor to the land, to Yamagakure, to the people in the Yama no kuni (Mountain Country).

Houses akin to those in Yamagakure could be found although their purpose seemed other than house somebody; blacksmiths and wooden outposts could be seen as well. The sky was clearing and turning blue, most of the mist scattered and allowed a view to the peak of the mountain were resided a little structure too far away to describe it, woods surrounded the little structure, as well as the road leading up to it. Places of note were the Barracks, huge rectangular structure three stories high, with numerous watchtowers facing the cliff and the lands beyond, and two more on each side of the wide entrance, this was the place where the men and women rested, guarded their equipment and saved their spoils. The place was segmented in the regular troops quarters, the recruit's quarters and the armory, the barracks were bigger than expected, as the building continued underground inside the mountain at least 3 levels, each one being a huge symmetrical complex of its own, the armory was on the first level underground. The crypts were a grim place with caretakers as gloomy as the atmosphere, they wore dark violet hooded garbs, and the guards wore dark leather shrouded armor; torches were the only source of light as there were no windows, unlike the other buildings and structures which appeared ancient, the crypts were greyish-white, the stone was well maintained, altars looked like made of marble, rows of thin columns stood on every part of the crypts, on the walls there were cavities where stone coffins and its corpses lay, on top of them there were katanas, each one being different from the last and next, from the pommel to the very top, they varied in width, length, the handle, the pommel, they very light the steel reflected seemed unique. Oddly enough there wasn't any foul smell, it smelled of balm and candles, the air wasn't heavy either, it felt light. Every sound could be heard, the footsteps of the strange hooded men, the flames of the candles and torches, even breathing would echo loud enough on the light surfaces. At one point Kaito could devise a dark hall that led deeper in the mountain, there were two statues with gaunt and sad faces that held their palms up holding green fire. "What is that sensei? Why is the fire green?" asked Kaito while touching the oddly soft surface of the walls, his voice echoed and ringed to his own ears for half a minute.

"It is fire made by chakra, molded by chakra," replied Satoi while paying his respects to the dead. Kaito noticed that there was nothing that could be sustaining that fire, not wood, not clothe, not anything, just burning in the stone palms

"Sensei, how does the flames keep going? There isn't anything that keeps it lit," asked Kaito as he wanted to go closer and examine the strange fire.

"Do you know what is chakra?" said Satoi while accompanying Kaito to get a closer look.

"Um, yes, it's the energy that every living thing has," said Kaito puzzled a bit by the question. As he got closer, the smell of balm got stronger from the dark hall.

"You could say so, to keep it simple chakra is the combination of the physical and mental energy of every individual, you seem quite familiar with what it can do so I won't bother with that," said Satoi as he tensed his jaw at smell of balm. "So, the answer to your question is that it is chakra what sustains the flames you see," Kaito seemed surprised a bit, not by the answer, but because he noticed that if it is chakra what keeps these flames alive, where does the chakra come from?

Satoi noticed this and made a small grin, "You noticed, right?"

"But where does the chakra of this fire come?"

"We cannot tell, in fact, _I_ can't tell, it seems as if the mountain has its own chakra network,"

"The mountain is alive?" asked Kaito in quite a loud tone.

"No its not, that is the weird part, next time keep it down will ya?"

"S-sorry sensei," said Kaito rubbing the back of his head.

Kaito noticed something even weirder, every step he took closer to the green flames it didn't get warmer, on the contrary, it was getting _colder_. The flames were not emitting any heat! Curiosity led Kaito to reach his hand closer to one of the flames, he wasn't even 3 feet away when he felt the sting of icy cold on his hand, from the wrist to tip of his fingers.

"Ow!"

Satoi chuckled, "Save your questions kid, for this isn't the place nor the time, come, we must go back outside."

"Wait, that hall, where does it lead?" asked Kaito while glancing back at the dark hall.

"To a place you shouldn't go, nor you shouldn't ask about," Satoi sighed, this kid pulled questions right off his ass, "don't you have a limit for your questions kid?"

"It's not bad to ask sensei,"

"Not if you don't start asking _too_ many questions,"

"My mother always said: there are no foolish questions, only fools who don't ask" said Kaito proudly as he was praised in the past by adults when he repeated his mother's word.

"It is more than clear that your mother was no shinobi," Satoi said. The crudeness of the statement made Kaito keep his mouth shut.

The next stop was a 7-foot tall concrete fence about half a mile away from the crypts; it was on the way to the little white spot on top of the mountain. The entrance was dull, simple, the terrain became rougher, as they go by deeper into the woods, the trees became taller, and taller, and taller, its thickness made rock look like fragile pebbles. The moss grew along with the wilderness as birds started singing; a soft mattress of leaves replaced the dirt with moist ground underneath. There were numerous roads, if you can call it that way, where trees made way for clearer views and where the ground allowed for easier walks. Deep in the wilderness the light was dim, there were torn barks, parts where the mattress of leaves was charred as if burned, clear signs of combat.

This was the Training Grounds; its size was almost as big as the famous 44th Training Ground of Konoha. The Grounds were segmented in the lower and upper parts by a cliff. There were two rivers in the upper part that converged together in a waterfall five hundred feet high, the highest point in the Grounds. Trees covered most of the place, but there some open spaces that allowed certain types of drills requiring more space, more destructive techniques or heavy weaponry. A noticeable feature is that there are academies spread on certain locations, four in total, where the recruits spend most of their time learning the basics and going for more theoretical classes.

Out of the Training Grounds and to the left there was the road to the little white spot on top of the mountain. Grass and little scrubs sprawled from the ground invading the rocky road in an attempt of nature to reclaim some of its soil.

"Kid, it is time for me to leave," said Satoi, he had things to do that required his attention.

"B-but there's still more to see," Kaito didn't want it to end, he was enjoying every part of it, he never had this freedom before, this was entirely new.

"Sorry kid, but there are things I must do, I showed you the essentials so you can at least know where to eat, train and sleep, sooner or later you'll see the rest of it," said Satoi. Seeing how Kaito pouted made Satoi have pity onthis kid, such innocence will be torn away, once Kaito sets foot on the Training Grounds by himself, he'll be an entirely new person. _'It is better than him staying with Takeshi'_. He doubted his own words, was it really better?

Satoi broke off his brief trance "you should go now, training begins in two days, you'll have to be on the Training Grounds before sunrise, arrive at the waterfall, in the mean time you must move to the Barracks on the third level, someone will be there to help you, got it?"

"Yes sensei!" Kaito tried to sound obedient, but then he lowered his head a bit with a sign of insecurity, "uhm, will you be the one teaching me sensei?"

Satoi tried to be brief, "to be true Kaito, once you begin your training we won't probably see each other too often." Kaito sighed at this; he hoped his next teacher would be as sympathetic as Satoi. "But, I said that you were going to call me sensei from now on, so we'll meet every Saturday before seven in the morning, got it kiddo?"

Kaito smiled from ear to ear. Satoi took it as a yes. "Where sensei?"

"Don't worry about it," and with that, Satoi left leaving only leafs and dirt where he once stood.

Satoi enjoyed the walk to the top, as he got closer, the way up was steeper and the winds blow was stronger.

The white spot was a small shrine, two runes stood at both sides of the base of the foundation on which the shrine was built upon. Its design was very much like classic Japanese architecture. The entrance was small and the interior seemed dark.

"Let me guess, a new batch of brats greener than the grass arrived," asked a voice inside.

Satoi knew who he was by the voice, "We all were at some point Lann, good to see you."

From the shrine came out a stocky man into the light of day, as he hadn't seen it in years. His face was gaunt, curved mouth and shaven, he had prominent cheekbones, and white hair was forming in what remained of his hair. His blue eyes were sad, small, glimmering with a tone of endeavor. He wore a black robe with a golden necklace.

"Satoi-sama," Lann seemed a bit disinterested evidenced in his bow to Satoi, "what brings you here?"

"Prayer, Buddha and I do not get along,"

"The mighty Satoi, looking for the gods for an answer, it is a rare sight, something must've happened," said Lann.

"We'll discuss it later this afternoon, I'll assemble a meeting" said Satoi while biting his toothpick. Lann was a bit queer, he had served since he was seven years old for the Band, now he was in his early forties and the man just plain dedicated to pray and pray, day after day on that shrine, some men have a mental breakdown after seeing too much warfare, but Lann was a person with a strong character who changed from one day to another. He has turned disinterested in every matter, he rarely spoke to anyone and when he did, he talked nothing but about the runes, the sculptures and hidden messages about the Temple, he became known as 'spooky Lann'.

The inside represented a circle, in the middle laid a pillar with a stone tablet and a crystal, which reflected the light on the circular walls. The table had encrypting's in an unreadable pattern or language.

Satoi laid eyes on it. It was like the stone tablet in the Naka Shrine of the Uchiha, curiously the tablet here could only be read by the Uchiha bastard, but not even he could read even a third and what he could read didn't make sense. The crystal was hypnotizing, its light was… like milk, the way it reflected on the walls depending on the sun's position gave away that this was some kind of clock, for what, they didn't know but it must be related to the stone tablet on the pillar, but the fact that not even a sharingan-born could fully read it made it impossible to figure it out. On the walls showed the Shintō gods, Amaterasu, Izanami, Izanagi, all of them.

Lann snorted, and left him alone in his own prayers. Satoi had faith in the gods, but his lack of trust in them made him most of the times reluctant to seek for them, he only prayed where situations seemed extreme.

Someone answered to him.

* * *

Two days had past, and Kaito was shriveling from the cold. The sun was yet hiding and the air freezed the lungs. The day before wasn't very nice, he spent the meals eating alone, people ignored or scoffed at him. He was confined to few places, but at least he got to meet the other kids, although not all of them were nice.

 _His sensei vanished in the blink of an eye. He went straight to the Barracks on the third level, some guard helped him on his way through the halls and through the stairs that led to the lower levels, they went straight for a door at the end of a hall. The door creaked as it opened revealing rows of berths with at the very least, two hundred kids. Kaito stiffed as all gazes fell upon him, he was the last to join them. He felt his heart pumping faster as he started to walk inside and the door shut close behind him._

" _Who is this one?" asked one between the crowd of children._

" _A dead boy," said grimly another one._

" _Shut up, why are you so mean?" said a girl._

" _Look at him, he's almost pee'd his pants,"_

" _He is not the only one already dead it seems,"_

 _Kaito gulped at the remarks and walked steadily to choose a berth, until a certain boy with fair face, short blonde hair and grey eyes stopped by in front of him._

" _Alright, enough of that!" shouted the blonde boy, "Hi, what's your name?" asked the blonde with a sharp tone._

" _Kaito, Himura Kaito," said Kaito while not trying to stutter. "What is your name?"asked Kaito._

 _The blonde boy arched a brow, "Haru", he stopped for a moment, "where do you come from Kaito?"_

" _Uhm, Konoha," said Kaito naively, that answer caused gasps and whispers. Haru himself opened briefly his eyes in surprise to the unexpected answer._

" _What is he doing here?"_

" _Konoha trash!"_

" _My father always said that Konoha were treacherous cowards,"_

 _Some shouted, some stood silent, others curious. Kaito was wordless, he wondered why they were saying this things, shouting them. He felt uneasiness, then he felt anger. "Konoha are not cowards nor trash!" he shouted, "I am only here because-"_

" _No one cares why you're here, no one cares who you were before entering here, we are meant to become part of the Sacred Band, the best shinobi in the world," said enthusiastic Haru. Kaito clenched his fists, Haru stood mere inches from him, he was taller by a few inches, "But no outsider shall become one," spat Haru before leaving Kaito to his own thoughts. The crowd of children started to dismiss._

 _Kaito went on and found a free berth on a corner, then he got sight of a kid approaching him, he had dark brown hair in a wavy mop, eyes so dark that they seemed onyx, he was thin but a bit taller than Kaito and his movements were gracile._

" _Sorry about that, we are not all like Haru," Kaito watched him with a frown. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Shinji" he reached his hand for a hand shake. Kaito looked at him, this Shinji seemed nice enough he supposed. Kaito answered in kind._

" _Kaito,"_

" _Yeah I know that," Shinji said with a smile, "Haru is an idiot, there are many who don't think like him,"_

" _I noticed," said Kaito sarcastically._

" _They just don't want to get involved, they fear Haru, his father is a powerful clan leader in the village, plus his mother is half Hyuuga,"_ (1) _said Shinji._

 _Kaito is no fool, he knew Haru probably had some training before. But the fact his mother is half Hyuuga was strange, weren't they a clan from Konoha?_

" _Hyuuga? They're from Konoha," said Kaito with surprise._

" _I... think, but yeah, he looks that he isn't fond of outsiders," said Shinji. "So hey, how is Konoha?"_

 _That took Kaito unawares but he felt a bit a of happiness, "I don't remember much, I left there when I was very young," he rubbed his neck._

" _But what do you remember?" asked Shinji eagerly._

" _I remember that it was big, very big, the buildings were more colorful, there were lots of people selling things everywhere, and the walls were huge, bigger than in Yama,"_

" _Wow,"_

" _The thing I remember the most are some faces in the mountains, huuge faces facing the village, they were so big that it scared me," said Kaito enjoying the memories._

" _How do you got here?"_

 _Kaito felt his mood shatter, "I-I don't want to talk about it, but Satoi-sensei brought me here"_

" _Hundred-eyes himself?" Shinji almost choked on his own words._

" _Y-yes, why?"_

" _Don't you know who he is? He is a hero, a legend, one of the most powerful men in the world, or so they say..." Shinji looked agazed, he wanted so badly to meet Satoi-sama._

 _They both smiled, in a horde of hostility around him, Kaito made himself a friend._

Two days hence, and Kaito and the other two hundred kids lined up and went to the Training Grounds. They were monitored by men and women with dai-katanas in their backs, all dressed with boiled leather, a segmented breast plate and steel shoulder pads, they wore a helm with slits for the eyes and mouth, at their hips they donned a hitai-ate with a lion's head as a symbol.

The trip to the waterfall was silent, even the birds were silent and only the wind and the steps of the children broke that silence.

Minutes passed and the sun's light lingered by the tree tops like fingers, if only they were closer to scare away the cold. The sound of the waterfall made its way to everyone's ears, and a moment later they were out of the forest.

Three men and a woman were awaiting their arrival; the woman seemed quite young, slim, very pretty with sad grey eyes, her hair was woven into a braid, she wore a grey flak jacket with her hitai-ate on the left shoulder. Two of the men also wore flak jackets, hitai-ates on the forehead, one was a stout man, he had a pointy chin and was bald, the other was a tall, gracile man, with a curly blonde hair, green eyes and very handsome. The last man wore nothing but a leather cuirass with multiple gashes on the breast and abdomen, he was tall, muscular, dark skinned, he looked dry and hard like an old oak. He had black short hair, a thin mouth and a stern face.

They were being lined up in silence, Kaito stood by with Shinji on the front. The low mumbling that started made the blond man form a smile as sharp as a knife, only the movement of the stern, muscular man in leather made them quiet. He started to look at everyone, analyzing, as if searching for something.

"Who are you?" spoke the muscular man in a deep voice, every word spoken clearly and slowly.

No one answered, they seemed either too shy, or too afraid or in truth they were stupid. The man kept walking by the columns of children, watching, then he stopped at one unlucky kid and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Who are you?"

The kid froze and tried his best to not stutter. "I-I-I I am-m-"

"You are no one," interrupted the man, "that is what you are all of you lot, you are a bunch of nobodies ready to piss their pants at a moment's notice, and in time, you'll notice that you're just meat..." he turned to the kid again. "So... why are you here?

"I-I am h-here because-"

"You lot are here so we can get your pathetic lives made into something of worth!" he interrupted again the poor kid to talk to the rest of the trainees. He turned yet again to the same horrified kid, "what do you think this place is?"

The kid was petrified, ready to cry, "I-I don't know..."

"Jeez kid, were you raised by a halfwit with a stutter?" he finally left the kid alone and walked back to the front. "Every tree, every plant, every living thing and the very soil feeds with every sweat, blood, and tears you spill... we're not growing a garden, your lives, your future, who you are we decide it ourselves,"

'Survive this next few years, pass the test and you will become one of us, but that has not happened yet, you are yet nobodies until you prove it otherwise. Jin, Keishi, Jūn step forward.'

The two men and woman stood forward. "She is Jin nobodies, she will be your history teacher," she seemed to be a little amused, as to what, for Kaito was a mystery. "Keishi, will be the one who teaches you medicine, biology and maths," he pointed out to the stout, bald man. "And Jūn, he will deal with your survival skills, hunting, fishing, foraging, tracking, hiding and all that crap." He pointed to the man with the sharp smile.

"As for me nobodies, I'm Endo, the most unsympathetic piece of shit sensei you'll ever meet, every day, from dawn to dusk you'll do exactly whatever I say, whenever I say, and how I say it... so, shall we begin?"

* * *

(1) I know about the fierce politics concerning clans with Kekkei genkai, so how his father managed to marry a Hyuuga will be explained later in the fic.

To my few readers, I have been very busy and I lost my chapters I had been writing so I had to start from scratch, I'm very sorry for that, so I published this one as soon as I could. Have patience please, keep faith in me and I assure you, I will not waste your time... I hope.


	5. Mother's Love

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, there.

Hey people, I wanted you to know that I'm changing the narrative for this fic, it will no longer be a third-person omniscient, it will be instead a third-person subjective, that means that this story will be told from character POVs (short for Point Of View), it will give me more freedom and better characterization of the ambient and characters, be it physically or emotionally.

So please enjoy!

* * *

Kaito

 _He digged and digged with the pickaxe he was given, piercing the ground with ever weaker strikes. His hands were killing him, they had calluses all over, the skin cracked open and sometimes blood would pour out. That was the job he was given, dig and dig. There were more children like him at his side doing the same thing, others were looking for gold, others carried the carriages that brought tools and shiny metals, others instead worked on the outside under the brazen heat of the sun. His sister was two years younger than him, so they didn't assign a specific job for her, too young; his mother though, searched for ores of gold not too far away from him._

 _There were men with whips, who would whip at anyone with any sign of disobedience, whimpering, or underwork, two men were already whipped until the flesh of their backs was seen, Kaito tried to look away but their screams of pain reached his ears to no avail. It was damn hot inside of the cave but such was the fear that his hands felt cold and trembled with the pickaxe still in his hands._

 _They were given two pieces of bread and water every day; that was the only food he got. It hadn't passed half an hour since he ate his portion and he was already starving, from now and then he looked for crumbs as filthy as they were. His mother would share her bread and water to him and his sister, he wanted to refuse but the look on his mother's eyes pierced him, he wanted to cry, but the dehydration prevented that. His mother could barely speak, she was horribly thin, sure, he had cracked skin around his lips and hands but his mother looked wear for the worst._

 _There was more dust than saliva in his mouth and the taste of it was salty, really salty, only if he could spit it out. For a moment he stumbled on something very hard only to reveal an ore of gold, it looked like a dull brown rock with golden bits. He studied it for a little bit, looking the golden parts, touching them, they felt soft after handling the pickaxe too much._

" _Watcha holdin' over there?" asked one of the men with an accent, he felt him coming closer and closer. "Ah, so you found a bit of gol' eh? Nice, hand it over and put it on the crate ov'there."_

 _But Kaito just stood there with the gold in his hands. "Uhm, mind if I keep it?"_

 _The man just looked at him with a dumbfounded look. "What? Fuck off."_

" _But I want to buy food-" he got interrupted by the feel of a sting in his left arm, it came out blood._

 _The man held his whip_ _threateningly_ _, "Does fuck off mean somethin' different where you come from? Go and place the fuckin' gol' in the crate, that's your job, you have shit? You put it ov'there, so don't bother me you little shit, back to work!"_

* * *

 _For a moment he felt as if time was flitting aimlessly, skipping some things, looping some. And in the other moment he found himself, filled with grief and rage. He felt the adrenaline run through all of his body, his hands didn't feel pain, he didn't feel weak; he felt… different._

 _He held the man against the walls of the cave with a crushing grip on his throat, the man gasped so desperately for air that blood was coming out of the nose. His mouth was covered in blood; the fist he had given the man was so crushingly strong that the man bit his tongue in half, hanging in a gory fashion. He had several broken teeth. Even when the man turned to answer in kind the kid seemed to be better, at everything, strength, speed, predictability. He probably had several hematomas, his ribcage was destroyed, a few broken ribs made their way out of his chest. His right arm was missing; the kid tore it out like it was a soft ragdoll, his left arm had his elbow pierce through his own flesh. He was quickly losing blood and he had no way to help himself, he was at his mercy._

"Wake up kid!" the roar of a man in a grey flak jacket woke him up from his bed, he was sweating. "Up! I said get up! Don't you know what up is?" Almost all of his fellow trainees were up and readying for today's training, he almost came last in getting up again.

"You know the set, the last who gets up, gets it!" He hopped down from his berth and put on his black dogi and boots quickly. No one fell asleep this time, so they got out of the barracks pretty fast, trotting towards the dining hall to get breakfast and from there to the Training Grounds.

He had been getting those dreams, again, ever since the training began. On his sleep, he killed him every night, he would see them die, he had blood in his hands, and the feels. The _anger_ , the remorse, such rage has driven mad lots of people, was he mad too? He pondered on it some of the nights, for being little kid, he thinks a lot, thinking about that, thinking about this, what if, what about; so much for a boy who wonders if he is mad, maybe that was his true nature, to think he is mad. He shrugged off those thoughts and focused on the present.

Time flew, ten months had past, he was already eight years old. There were already seven dropouts, and the training with Endo-sensei was hell; trotting around the woods for who the hell knows how long, crawling in the mud, pushups, burpees, exercises to build stamina, all in sets in one day. He got to learn basic hand-to-hand combat; he picked up three poses while learning and got it to practice with Shinji. It was hard during these months, the brutality of Endo-sensei and the animosity of his fellow recruits saw to that. Haru Ouchi, didn't make it easier either, Kaito tried to best him and shut that mouth of his, only for him to eat dirt and watch as Haru bested him at everything, he was faster, stronger, quick of thought, and what was worse for him is that Haru enjoyed every bit of it, with an occasional taunt; Kaito's blood would boil, he wanted to break his pretty nose.

Jūn-sensei sessions were entertaining, he got to hike, find plants, bugs, track down rabbits. Tracking was the hardest and took most part of the day, and they didn't got close on catching the rabbits. Keishi-sensei sessions were interesting to say the least; Kaito was bored at maths, and uninterested in medicine but he was fascinated at biology. Jin-sensei sessions were his favorites, probably because she was really kind on them, and he really liked history. He got to learn that the Sacred Band is nearly a thousand years old, outdating by far the creation of the first hidden village. They were created for the protection of Yama no kuni from foreign invaders through the foundation of three strongholds that would defend important choke points in The Rift, a canyon hundreds of feet deep and a few hundred feet wide, with mountain ranges located at both sides that along with the canyon would extend from the western shore to the eastern shore (1), the three forts were from west to east, Suijin Keep, Sangaku Temple and Uzume. Sangaku being the biggest of the three, capable of housing a five thousand strong army, and withstand a siege for a year.

He got to learn that the founder of the Band was a man now commonly addressed as O-sensei, which stands for 'Great Teacher'; all records of him were destroyed at the burning of the Library five hundred years ago, the other pieces of information were of dubious source and people started to question if he existed at all, and so his name was forever buried.

It was a quick breakfast, scrambled eggs with honeybread coupled with milk. Endo summoned them to the waterfall; apparently he had something in mind.

"Line up brats, pain awaits," said Endo with the same attire he used since day one, some groans could be heard among the kids. "Now for all of you squabbling kids, we're here to get to the next phase of the training, you pack of nobodies will show me if you are still pups drinking from their mother's teats or if you at least show some fangs at the hour of fighting. Show me what you learned!"

Endo proceeded to draw a circle, what was he doing? The ambient was getting tense, a lot of throats gulped in sign of expectation. Kaito started to wonder, was he really going to…?

"You'll show me the level you're on and help me determine who are the ones who are the least useless of this lot."

' _Sparring matches? Well at least it isn't another set of trotting,'_ thought Kaito.

"Idari, Hoguro, you're first, the rest of you take seat." Endo didn't even mind the honorifics when speaking to them, Kaito wondered if he ever used them.

They went on to find somewhere comfortable to seat on, Kaito chose to seat with Shinji in the lower rocks adjacent to the cliff to get a good view at the matches. The two boys that were called walked silently to the circle. One was a pale dark haired kid with sharp eyes and with the hair tied into a spiky ponytail; the other was bronzed skinned with brown, curly shoulder length hair. Both were focused on one another, looking at the tiniest muscle movement, they both took fighting poses. The pale dark haired one took position number one, his body was situated in an aggressive manner, his left hand formed what resembled a claw and the right hand was retracted into a fist, the bronze skinned instead took a position that allowed the opponent for an open frontal attack, both his hands were positioned forward for a grappling position; position number three.

"Begin!"

It started out slowly, the pale boy started to circle his opponent, looking for an opportunity, both staring at each other's eyes, then it happened. The pale boy launched a side kick that was easily dodged and continued with direct attacks, he punched, he tried to uppercut him, he tried to get to his back, but the other one just dodged or moved to the side at the last second, always on the periphery of the circle; he gritted his teeth in visible desperation and started a frenetic succession of punches and kicks, he was agitated and started to became tired. The bronze skinned kid took the opportunity in a miss step of the other one and dodged his fist with both his hands redirecting the strike past him. He proceeded to get to his back and grapple with both his hands on both trapezius and throw him to the ground and off the circle.

"That was clever, but he was lucky too," said Shinji with a focused look. "He held him to the sides of the circle so he could get a fast counterattack and throw him off."

Kaito looked at the pale kid that was recovering quickly to his feet. "He became frustrated, that was part of the plan I think."

"Either way he doesn't look too happy," said Shinji with a laugh. Indeed, the pale kid was ready to make a show; he was red like a tomato and was making his way to the rocks near Kaito and Shinji.

"Damn Idari, you suck!" spoke with a high tone and a high-pitched voice.

"Shut up! He got lucky, that's all" said Idari with a pout. "You shouldn't even be talking, you're a girl!"

"I'm a girl and I cry less than you, I bet that I would beat you into a pulp" replied the girl. She was thin, blue-eyed; with a small pointy nose, shoulder length blonde hair that was tied into two ponytails and with two bangs of hair falling on her forehead.

"Oh shut up and move!" said Idari irritated and pushed the girl to the side.

"Hey! No need to be rude you idiot, I'm not the one who kicked your ass."

"Soon I'll be the one laughing when I see you eat the dirt," said Idari with a grin, "I bet that you wouldn't last ten seconds, I could bet my honeybread if you like.

She smirked, "Oooh then get prepared cus' you're gonna lose badly."

"Quite the girl," said Shinji. "Is she crazy?"

"I don't know, she seems rather vivid to me, although she is scary," said Kaito with an arched eyebrow. "I would bet on her, heh."

"Ayaka, Naomi," started to rumble the imperious voice of Endo, "you're next"

It went on like this for the rest of the morning; some encounters lasted seconds, other minutes, at the most 15 minutes. Shinji came up against a kid named Izuro; the latter didn't put up much of a fight and was beaten effortlessly by Shinji with an uppercut that left him unconscious.

Kaito got to talk with Hogaru, he came from a small village from the other side of The Rift, his family was poor and food was scarce, his father didn't want to have more mouths to feed, so he sent him to Yamagakure and enlisted him.

"I'm sorry, I should not have asked," said Kaito uncomfortable; he didn't imagine his father would be so mean.

"No worries, you shouldn't apologize," said Hogaru, he looked sad, the glimmer in his eyes were full of remorse, sadness, he had been discarded as if he were a nuisance.

"Would you want to go back?" asked Shinji.

"To my home? Of course, I wouldn't want anything more in this world, to see my older brothers, to see my mom."

Kaito clenched his fingers in his knees at the sound of that word, 'mom', he tried to forget but he couldn't. He was jealous; at least he had his family alive. He couldn't stand his whimpers. But those thoughts were brief; he came to his senses and decided not to blame him.

"Are you alright?" asked Hogaru wavering his hand in front of Kaito's eyes. "You went quiet and grim for a moment."

"I-I'm sorry, I was thinking about my mother and sister."

"Oh, I see," said Hogaru with a questioning glare, "I heard that you were from Konoha, is that true?"

"Yes," he looked at Hogaru with a severe glare, "you're gonna make fun of me? Insult me?"

Shinji was ready to be in between them just in case. Hogaru was taken aback by the sudden change in Kaito's personality. "N-no, sorry if I said something, I wouldn't do that," Hogaru sighed, "I find that people who come from all places are very interesting, they have always something to tell, I got to interact with a lot of them in my village. I am sure you are very interesting too."

Kaito was taken unawares, he didn't expect Hogaru to actually be nice; he chuckled and scratched his nape. Shinji sighed in relieve.

"And you Shinji-san? Where do you come from?" asked Hogaru.

"I come from a small village, ten miles north of Yama. It is a very calm place, just at the base of the mountains. It would rain so much that it wouldn't stop for entire days. And then in the morning we would go and look for earthworms, and use them as bait for the fish," said Shinji. "Yes, a beautiful green country that extended to the horizon.

"That sounds nice, maybe you should take us there sometime," said Kaito with a smile.

"I'd try, you would be welcomed as if it were your own home. And if you could take us to Konoha one day it would be awesome, to see the stone faces and all that."

Kaito grinned, then closed his eyes. "Konoha was never my home, I never stayed too long in one place, we would go from village to village, sometimes we would stay days or weeks in one place, to then move to another place. But I remember something, a white door, that's the closest I ever had to a home, the people were nice, I got to play with my sister in the garden, the drawings on the walls were awesome and my mom, she smiled a lot in that place."

"What happened to your mom? I never asked," asked Shinji with cautious words.

Kaito's look hardened but didn't emanate hostility as before, "My mother died, nearly a year ago."

They went quiet for a moment, the sound of grunts and moans still echoed along with the splash of the waterfall in the distance. "And your father?" continued Shinji.

"My father?" Kaito went silent for a moment, and started to question himself about his father, who was he? "I don't know, I never knew him, you're the first one to ask me about it," he had never thought about his father before, did he abandon them? Where was he?

Then something else got Kaito's attention, the loud thump of someone hitting the ground,

"Hey man not cool!" said one of the boys in the ground

The other scratched his back and chuckled, "Hehe sorry, I just took opportunity."

"Again sensei! Please! I want a rematch, I'm sure I'll beat him next time!" said enthusiastic the kid in the ground. He was peach skinned, brown short hair ending with spikes and brown eyes.

"Quit your whimpering Atsu, next time you'll get your lazy ass to train properly or I will see you down The Rift, do you understand?" said Endo.

Atsu just sighed depressed, "Yes sensei." He got up with a hand on his right shoulder. "Aw man I was this close…" said Atsu disappointed, expressing himself with his fingers.

"Aina, Demoi, you're up," said Endo with his leather cuirass shining under the sun of midday.

"Woooo! My turn!" said euphorically the blonde loud girl from before; she approached the circle with a cartwheel and jumping around. Kaito got a closer look at her, she wore a tight red leather vest similar the upper part of a qipao, and a black leather tights and fingerless gloves on both hands. Demoi was huge, easily a foot and some inches taller than Kaito, he had a rather broad build, a short spiky black hair and dark brown eyes. He looked down to Aina, unimpressed.

Aina looked up to see his face in surprise, only to giggle shortly after. "Ooooh you're a big one aren't ya, let's dance!"

Demoi just sweat-dropped and was beginning to look annoyed.

"Shut up Aina," scolded Endo. "Begin."

Aina was quick, _very_ quick; she tried to throw him off his feet with an oscillating kick to his legs, but the tripping attempt failed as Demoi stood there, strong as a rock. Aina wasted no time and went up for an uppercut kick that Demoi barely blocked with his hands.

It was mostly a stalemate, Aina's strikes didn't have enough power to have any noticeable effect on him, and she was too quick for Demoi's heavy blows. She feinted a right hook and went for a frontal kick that connected to his nose; Demoi grunted and covered his broken nose. Aina tried to do the same feint with the left but Demoi anticipated it and landed a heavy punch on Aina's jaw that sent her almost out of the circle. She seemed disoriented from the strength of the blow, she was helpless against the walking behemoth.

"She's finished," said Shinji.

Aina looked to regain some consciousness and with Demoi just above her, she needed a quick change of strategy. What everybody saw made everyone make faces of pain, Aina went again for an uppercut kick but this time not for the face, but for the groin.

Demoi's face changed from a smirk to one of agony, he couldn't move and fell to his knees after Aina went through his legs. Aina then proceeded with a roundhouse kick to his face that ended with a thump outside the circle.

"Weeee I won!" she jumped in joy and walked back to her seat with a smug face. "I guess that you know what it means Idari," she teased.

Idari turned red again, "You… You…"

"Me, me. That honeybread is mine now so shut your mouth and stop with excuses," she sat joyfully at Idari's side.

"Damn I should've bet," said Kaito with his arms folded, those honeybreads were delicious.

"That girl is scary, I wouldn't mess with her," said Shinji with a chuckle.

"I could take her," said Hogaru.

"You wouldn't have balls by the end of the day," replied Kaito, they laughed at the remark.

"Haru, Kaito, it is time for you," said with a low and serious tone Endo. It was clear the hostility between the two of them; maybe he could get out more juice exploiting this rivalry.

Kaito was shocked, of all people he had to fight him? He felt a chill run through his spine, he was anxious, then impetuous. He walked slowly to the circle. Haru jumped down a rock and walked to the opposite side of the circle, he glared coldly to Kaito, he wore a navy blue shirt and brown shorts, his typical attire.

Kaito took his position, eyes focused and with a frown, he adopted position number one, claw upfront and fist retracted. Haru took a position he never saw before; he was in a low position with his left arm stretched forward and palm open, his right arm instead was retracted but not in a fist but a stretched palm looking down. Kaito was confused, he looked to Endo and saw him open his eyes in surprise and mutter something under his breath.

"I'll enjoy this," said Haru with a smug face.

"You'll bite the dust," replied Kaito.

"Begin…" said Endo slowly, as if unsure if to proceed or not.

Haru took the first step with a direct palm strike to his face, Kaito barely managed to dodge it, he was fast, incredibly fast; he continued to pin Kaito down with successive circular strikes, Kaito blocked one with his left arm just inches from his face and proceeded to counterattack with linear strikes.

A punch to the gut managed to break Haru's defense and Kaito used the opportunity to frontally kick Haru in the jaw, but Haru moved the side and used momentum to his favor and tripped him. Kaito hit the ground and tried to regain composure, only for Haru to land strikes all over his body, to the torso, to the face, to the arms, to the legs at a great speed. Kaito felt his lip feel warm and in pain, soon followed by the taste of blood.

"Come on, I haven't even started," said Haru after a brief pause. "You won't even touch me."

Kaito spit blood, "Want to bet?" he launched himself with a roundhouse kick that Haru dodged by moving to the side, Kaito sent hooks, uppercuts, sidekicks, and Haru was dodging everyone of them. The pain on his limbs from the strikes Haru sent was taking its toll as Kaito moved slower and with more pain. The dust made him blink more as well.

Haru chuckled every time he dodged one Kaito's strikes. He had the advantage. Kaito managed to move him to the periphery of the circle and feinted a hook followed by a direct punch to the gut and a right hook to his jaw. _'I got him!'_ thought Kaito with joy, he won, Haru was finished, there was no way he could escape this. But in the spam of seconds that joy disappeared along with Haru in a puff of smoke.

"W-what?" said Kaito loudly as he tried to not trip from his own momentum.

"Over here," said Haru behind his back. Kaito turned and saw Haru in a completely fine state with a cocky grin. There were awes among the crowd, some started to whisper, after all what did he just do?

Kaito did not know what to think, he was shocked, he had him, now he had not.

"Wha-, when?" thought Kaito loudly.

"What was that?!" screamed Aina.

"How could he do that?" said in disbelief Atsu.

Haru chuckled as he held his fist with his other hand; he became a blur to Kaito and only the pain in his gut made him realize that Haru's elbow connected to his diaphragm. He tried to scream of pain but the lack of air in his lungs made him to only do a deaf sound; he fell to his knees with both hands on his gut, trying to gasp for air. Haru grabbed Kaito's long hair and went for the final blow.

"Stop," commanded Endo, "well mister Haru Ouchi, it seems you're the least useless nobody of the pack." He then turned to Kaito, "that was a bunshin; if that were a real fight you'd be dead by now."

Kaito started to cough in an attempt to catch his breath and tried to get up. Endo turned to the rest of the recruits; "Mister Ouchi here grew up in a compound, spitting on the likes of you lot, time will tell if he can bleed as well. Go and clean yourselves up, that's it for today."

Kaito's vision was blurry and his gut was killing him; he tried his best to get up but his arms felt heavy; his biceps felt as if a hundred needles were stinging him and his knees shake while trying to support his own weight while he was standing up. He got to see the blurry figures of Hoguro and Shinji run to him, both trying to put each of his arms over their necks and help him to get back on his feet. "Jeez, what is wrong with him?" said Hoguro while pointing out to Haru who was walking to his particular group of friends. They seemed quite amused, if something kept them united, it was the common feelings towards Kaito.

Shinji inspected with his eyes the whole group. "I don't know," Shinji stared quietly at Haru with a frown, "but he is dangerous, he is far better than any of us. Best to keep away from him for now."

Kaito felt frustration, never had he felt so embarrassed, how could it be that the gap between them was that large. Not only Haru fought better, but he also used chakra and a jutsu. "You want me to run away from him?" spat Kaito, "I'm not a coward."

"You want to face him again after this?" questioned loudly Shinji, "He almost killed you, look at you!"

Shinji's eyes were glinting with worry. Every step he made felt like a hammer was hitting at his thighs and knees and he still felt dizzy. Maybe Shinji was right, maybe its best to keep away from Haru. He felt disbelieving, he knew Haru was better but not like this. On this past months he struggled to keep up with the rest of the group, and now this? He felt as if he was becoming the dead last. "Is it really the difference between us that great?" asked out of his mind.

"Between most of us and him at least, I mean, he is from a prestigious clan, he must have had lessons in his home," said Hoguro.

They saw Haru turn himself with his friends towards Kaito, and mumble something that sparked a laugh between them.

Shinji frowned at this, "Cocky idiot."

The full pack of recruits were dispersing as each made his way to the main plaza where they could then go and do whatever they liked for the rest of the day. Shinji and Hoguro spent the day taking Kaito to the infirmary to patch his cuts and bruises.

He only hoped that tomorrow's lesson with Satoi-sensei would be better than this.

* * *

Satoi

He was walking in front of his desk for at least half an hour. Parchment filled his desk in piles and the smell of incense overflowed the room. He looked at the books in the shovels; he looked at the oil lamp on the roof that lit the room, he looked to the piles of parchments only to look away in disgust, and finally he looked at the eerie night. New moon, the sky was dark and no clouds could be seen nearby, he closed his eyes and folded his arms in his back, and listened closely to the crickets. Then he heard the faint footsteps, getting closer.

He opened slowly his eyes; someone was approaching the door and did not last long to knock.

"Come in."

The door creaked as it opened and a new smell joined the incense, the smell of dirt and sweat. Satoi didn't flinch at the new presence in the room and kept looking at the darkness that enveloped the outside.

"Lovely piece of work you have there," said with his rough voice Endo.

"It doesn't get better every day," said Satoi as he turned and greeted his old tutor. "War was easier than this thing."

Endo snorted, "Then you're not even prepared to have a daughter."

Satoi laughed and took a seat and folded his arms to the front. Endo seemed to be immune to aging, he barely saw wrinkles in his face and he still keeps that daunting build as if he were blessed with youth. "Not that I'm planning on having one, I would make a shit father believe me."

"Not worse than the bastard you got in front believe me," said Endo. They both cracked a small laugh as Satoi started to clear up his desk of the dreaded parchments, and pull out two sake cups and a bottle of sake.

"Some sake?" asked Satoi.

"Yeah I think I'll have some," replied Endo. Satoi proceeded to pour sake on both cups. Soon the pleasant burning feel of sake filled his mouth and throat.

"It has been a long time isn't it? How old is she?" asked Satoi.

"Twenty-seven, time flies, she got married to a silk merchant she met on the Market District, and now," he stopped for a sip of his drink. "And now she moved to that rat's nest they call capital, haven't heard from her ever since."

Satoi looked to him in lament, "I wouldn't have guessed that things would go out that badly."

"But they did," he twitched his fingers. "She'll never forgive me for what happened to her mother."

"You were always too hard on yourself, it wasn't entirely your fault."

Endo looked to his sake, as if he were hypnotized contemplating the movement of the liquid. "No, but here I am, drinking sake with you, and there she is, feeding the worms," he drank what remained of his sake and asked for more. "Speaking of fathers and children, who is truly this Kaito kid? I know he worked on the mines but, you never said much about him in that meeting."

Satoi tensed his jaw, _'Nor will I anytime soon'_ _._ He looked down to his cup and back to his former sensei's eyes. "Has something happened?" he prepared for the worst.

"Aye, the Ouchi brat almost killed him, he kicked his ass in what I would call an a-class spectacle," he snorted but not in a funny mood. "He's good, Ouchi's son, promising, he pulled a Bunshin on this Kaito and fought in a gentle fist position; had he applied chakra that Kaito kid would be dead."

Satoi sighed and took a deep sip of his sake. Only Shizou knew details about Kaito and he was sent off in an A-class mission, he trusted him to not tell anyone. He had his reasons to not tell who Kaito was or what he did, but this was his former sensei he has known him since he was seven, he was an honorable man, a cunt sometimes, but honorable.

"I know you are giving him lessons as well, so I wonder, why in the name of hell are you training him personally."

He concentrated on the surroundings to see if there was any over-interested person. "He's a Himura," he said, and took another sip.

Endo stared blankly at him then he narrowed his eyes with a frown in disbelief. "A Himura? How the fuck is he a Himura?" Satoi leaned back on his chair. "Who are the parents?"

"His father? I don't know, he never spoke of him, probably abandoned his family; though he spoke a lot of his mother, she worked and died on the mines."

"So he's a bastard?" Endo said icy cold, the emphasis on _bastard_ pretty notorious.

"Yes," nodded Satoi.

"How can you confirm he is truly a Himura?" asked Endo leaning forward.

"He told me himself," Endo was opening his mouth to talk and probably scold him for believing so blindly in the words of a kid but Satoi beat him to it. "But, that is what I'm trying to confirm, I need to investigate it, and part of that is the bloodline, to see if his kekkei genkai activates."

Endo looked to his side and bit his lip, "you always had a soft spot for bastards, but why this particular bastard?"

Satoi stood quiet for a moment, he didn't want to say more. "Let's leave it there, that will be a discussion for another time."

Endo stayed there in his seat, quiet, unsatisfied with the response he got. "I hope this doesn't bite us in the ass in the near future, if there is more to this, I want to know Satoi," it didn't sound as a command but more like a request. Satoi didn't want to speculate with him, it was still too vague.

Endo took his leave with a bow, leaving Satoi to his thoughts. The kekkei genkai of the Himura, even though impressive, it was not enough for a weak underfed kid to do such a mess. No, there was more to this.

He went to his chambers on the Shunnin's tower, the thickest of five towers that were erected across the stronghold, being nearly a hundred foot squared tower, it overlooked the main plaza and the Library with the forest of the training grounds visible at the distance, at the side there was the Raijin tower, the tallest of the towers, known for holding the rookery. His private quarters were on the last floor; they were sizable and comfortable.

He looked at the ceiling from his bed, he only hoped Kaito was fine and could continue with his training tomorrow. Kaito had already told him about his relation with the Ouchi boy, after what happened to him he would probably press him to teach him something more advanced. He pondered on what Endo said about the Ouchi boy's abilities. _'He already knows how to do a bunshin, and how to fight in gentle fist that in itself is remarkable; no he isn't bad at all he may prove an asset in the future, but his hostility towards Kaito is troublesome.'_

He thought of the man who spoke to him in the shrine ten months ago, or was it a woman? He couldn't tell, but the voice echoed in his head in an endless loop. The voice unnerved him and the words it spoke, enigmatic. _'Shadow's will dance, the big fish will eat the little fish and he'll keep on swimming, with him, death upon the broken stone.'_ That's what it said, what does it mean? He felt dread, he felt cold was enveloping him. He tried to cast out those thoughts and focus on the present. He had an uneasy night.

In the morning he would go and meditate on the loneliness of his room, with the wind rattling the windows as a guest. He went to break his fast and go for Kaito.

Not surprisingly, Kaito was already up and taking breakfast in the dinning hall. _'Atta kid'._ After breakfast they passed through the courtyard in front of the Shunnin's tower in direction to the gardens

The gardens were a peaceful place, often used by Satoi to meditate; not many had entrance to it. Beautiful flowers gathered in patterns, bushes and saplings would sprawl from the ground, and at the center of it, there was a grove, where flowers and bushes were sparse and the domain of grass and moss began. The trees had deep roots on this place, they weren't very tall nor very thick as those in the Training Grounds, yet they were old, very old, older than the foundations of the temple. Each of them had a little pool beside them, where the green leaves would rest once they fell from the branches. Each pool had miniature rivers that connected to a single fountain at the center of the grove.

They sat on the grass in seiza (2), Satoi always began with a meditation exercise. Holding the breath, feeling the beating of one's heart, listening the the birds and the water flowing through the fountain and the little rivers, thinking of nothing. Then he felt it, Kaito's breathing was faster than usual, he heard his feet twitch against the grass, he was agitated.

"You want to say something," said Satoi in a calm voice with his eyes still closed.

"Why are we doing this again?" started ranting Kaito, "We've been doing this since our first meeting, we've been doing nothing but meditate, work on the balance of the body and all of that, why are we going so slow? I want to learn how to throw kunai's, I want to know how to hold a katana, I want to know jutsus, I want to learn how to fight!"

Satoi opened his eyes and pierced him with an icy glare, "You're not ready."

Kaito tensed and opened his eyes at the response, "But how I'm not ready? I've tried my best in every class and training session, I've been training with you for almost ten months!"

"And you are failing miserably," said Satoi raising his voice, "You lack a true motivation to keep going on, you lack patience, you are still haunted by your mother's death."

"N-no, that's not true sensei," said Kaito as if he was questioning and answering to himself.

"Your hair, you keep it long, why is that?"

Kaito looked back to his eyes and gulped, he clenched his hands against his thighs then looked back.

"As I supposed," said Satoi, he wasn't angry at him and he couldn't blame him, but such behavior would not be tolerated in the future. "I won't teach you those things yet, not until you know the meaning of patience and self control."

"But Haru-"

"Is from a noble family, his father is one of the most powerful men in the country and he grew up knowing the comfort of servants, a warm bed, nice food and having both his parents. And you, a bastard, knowing nothing but misery, loneliness and hard floors as beds,"

Kaito was twitching, his look of disbelief almost shattering, he looked on the brink of running to never return.

"And yet," continued Satoi, that stopped Kaito from getting up and running, "You are stronger than him."

Kaito looked on shock, "But h-how, he beat me, I can barely move."

"True, but true strength comes not from the skill of combat, nor the power of muscles, nor our cunning, but from the will of our hearts, and your mother's love is what kept you alive, her love was more sincere than this Haru brat had ever had, you have survived against worse than Haru Ouchi." Satoi approached to him and put both hands on his shoulders, Kaito was weeping in a few silent tears, but he looked at Satoi straight in the eye. "Survive in her memory, make her and your sister proud, that you kept going no matter what."

Kaitos relaxed his shoulders and wiped his tears off, "Yes, Satoi-sensei."

"Good. And remember, every tower needs a foundation, it is not up to me but it is up to you, if you can raise this foundation and finish the tower by yourself."

"Like the tower you live in sensei?"

Satoi smiled, "Yes, like that tower, tall and tough," then Satoi felt something, not in his surroundings but in his being, he felt butterflies in his stomach. Kaito smiled, ' _Keep smiling kid, please don't be as grim as this world.'_

Satoi got up and brushed off the leaves on his clothes. "Now, shikkō (3), evade the little rivers in that position and do thirty laps around the grove, that will be your first exercise of the day."

"Hai sensei!"

* * *

(1) If you look at the map, the country in which I'm doing the story on, has what it looks like a peninsula, The Rift is located at the border between mainland and the peninsula, Yamagakure would be inside the peninsula bordering The Rift.

(2) Seiza or, proper sitting, is the traditional sitting stance in Japan.

(3) Shikkō is the movement of the person while in seiza, it is hard and with time painful.

So, I hope you liked it, please leave a review and tell me what you think. Next chapter will be away from the Sangaku temple, and a little familiar and infamous event will take place during this time of the story, maybe it will hint at what will happen in the future.


	6. The Laughing Bull

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...

"Dialogue"

 _'Thoughts'_

 _Flashback_

 _"Dialogue in the flashback"_

Back from the dead bitches! I'm really sorry for disappearing all those months. I'm a slow writer in general and sometimes a lazy fuck, but I publish chapters slowly because, I have college and other RL issues, but also because I take care of what I write, and if I don't like one part, I rewrite it.

Please enjoy.

* * *

Kenji

"It's been a long time..." said Kenzo seated in his desk, in front of him; his voice impregnated with nostalgia. "I can see them; from first to last in my dreams, I could draw pictures of every face. Aye I remember them all. Do you remember your first kill?"

He made a few steps towards the desk with his left hand on the pommel of his katana. "Of course daimyo-sama."

His hands were crawling to a jug full of beer, "And? Who was it?"

"A Kumo shinobi, in my first B-rank mission, somewhere in the border between Yu no kuni and Shimo no kuni."

"How did you do it?"

"Stuck a kunai between his eyes, he never saw it coming."

The daimyo drank deep on his mug full of beer. "You're sharp, even as a boy. Mine was in the Third War in the battle of the Tenzu fields, I got separated from my platoon so I was alone, there was chaos all around me, I didn't know what to do, lots of people were dying all around me, one explosion from an explosive tag almost got me and sent me flying"

'And then I saw him, crawling in the mud, as lost as me and more afraid than me, and then he saw me. He came towards me screaming like a crazy whore. So I picked my katana and in one single move I cut his guts open and took his arm off in the next one, I didn't give him the chance to do a single jutsu; he tumbled to the ground and before I drove my sword to his heart he shouted 'no, wait, please don't!''

He chuckled ironically, he clenched his fingers and dropped his smile, "We all think its all roses, rainbows and pink when we go to the shinobi academy. All we say is how we're gonna save people and be like our parents, how awesome would be to be a shinobi, that is before they all shit themselves when the real stuff begins," he paused to catch his breath; he looked melancholically to his beer. "Had he been one of the smart boys, he would've stayed on the margin, he would've lived up to this day, grow old, watch his ungrateful sons grow up, stand the bitching of his wife, bury his old man… stupid kid" his voice full of remorse. His dark brown eyes looking like empty marbles staring at nothing.

Kenji stared at the daimyo thoughtful and cleared up his throat, "War changes the course of nature, it makes parents bury their sons instead of the other way around."

The white curtains behind the daimyo flapped like a bird in response to the sea wind. The salty smell leaving its mark on all the capital.

"My father… it was the sea who buried my father beneath the waves, he always loved ships," said the daimyo. He took another drink of his mug. Kenzo had a round face with a small nose, his cheekbones were prominent and his eyes were a dark shade of brown to match his curly shoulder-length hair.

Kenji stood there unsure what to make of the daimyo. "Why are you not drinking?" asked sharply the daimyo.

"Pardon me daimyo-sama, I stopped drinking a long time ago."

The daimyo stood from his seat, revealing his stature. The man was easily over six foot tall; he was probably closer to the seven than the six. He was built like a bull, and was easily like one in his feats of rage. He took another mug and filled it with beer from the jug, and extended it over to him, "Drink, your fucking daimyo commands it."

Now he could not refuse. The taste of beer in his mouth felt sour, he took care of not drinking too much as his long abstinence could result in the alcohol quickly reaching to his head.

"It's not sake but it's better than having nothing to moisten your tongue in this wretched climate. You better get ready my friend, the snakes are arriving by noon," said the daimyo. He knew perfectly who these snakes were.

"So soon?"

The daimyo finished his mug with a loud 'ah', traces of beer still remained on his black beard. "Yeah, Takeshi is one impatient son of a bitch, he didn't come here to taste the sea, enjoy our beautiful beaches and grace us with his holy presence," he chuckled, "No, he didn't request a great council meeting for nothing, the arrogant prick. He wants something, I am sure of it, my little bones are telling me."

Kenji felt a chill through his spine; Takeshi was not to be trusted, he always felt that his face was a mask, behind those deceitful eyes lay a creature whose true motives were unknown. "That man is not to be trusted Kenzo-sama."

The daimyo scoffed, "Only a fool would trust Takeshi. Hard to believe he and Hundred-Eyes were best buds once."

Kenji's memory went back to the times of the War of Succession, ten years ago, when Aido 'the Ill-minded', the last daimyo of Yama no kuni was overthrown, that was after the Third War. He remembered walking behind Satoi, Kenzo, Ouchi and Takeshi through the beach with Yamagakure's army, along with some shinobi and ashigaru levies many lesser daimyo's provided during the revolt. And then they saw it, the smoking pile of ruin the city was; fire, smoke, crows and corpses received them. The walls were intact, there was no way such amount of destruction came from an assault from the outside, no signs of an army laying siege to Kyonōsu(1) or even signs of an army being outside the walls either. No, it was from the inside. _'Mutiny?'_ the doubts were confirmed when they saw Uesugi men scour at every corner, hanging people from their windows, baby's torn from their mothers and thrown to the fire or from the height of the walls. Children would weep to deaf ears before the bite of steel reached their necks. The men were killed and covered in oil and lit with fire, and the women raped and butchered as if they were animals. When they reached the daimyo's keep there was no resistance, they opened the doors and only two things caught the eye. Hyoshi Uesugi's son leaning against a column tending to his katana with a whetstone and the family of the daimyo hanging from the ceiling. This was the fallout that separated two ideologies; Ouchi was disgusted and stormed out of the room not saying a word, only the echoing of his footsteps. Satoi was engaged in a heated discussion with Takeshi. Kenzo watched the corpses, not saying a word. Meanwhile Kenji had no say on the matter, keeping his opinions to himself, as many others.

" _-then how do you describe this!?" the voice of Satoi full of venom, booming through the throne room. "What is the honor in this?"_

" _Justice is how I describe it! Have you forgotten what kind of monster he was? Haven't you thought of a better ending for a man like him? This is a conquest!" said Takeshi, he was resolved, ruthless, on this war he had changed a lot, he had outbursts, but not like this. He stood strong on his pragmatic sense of justice._

 _Satoi frowned, he visibly could not believe this "Conquest?" asked with irony, "This is not a conquest, this is a slaughter! If we are fighting for justice how can we accept an atrocity such as this, this was a conquest without honor!"_

" _This is war…"_

 _Satoi looked distraught, he turned to Kenzo, "And you, Kenzo?"_

 _Kenzo was unresponsive; he looked as if he was in a trance._

 _Satoi bit in half his toothpick and walked silently, two Sacred Band shinobi clad in armor at each side of him. "We are no better than the man we fought against. You are sitting on a throne of blood, Kenzo, think of that," said Satoi one last time before leaving the keep._

"I recall those days…" said Kenji. He felt the sweat on his forehead and on his hands. That day, he could not forget.

"The kids Kenji, I could not stop staring at them, the look on their faces, what were their last thoughts, my friend? It haunts me to this day still, their fucking father deserved a fate a thousand times worse than he got, but them?" Kenzo wiped the sweat from his forehead and filled his mug again. "Some believe I should have put Hyoshi's head on a spike, maybe they were right, but time has passed and Hyoshi has proved to be an asset, I can't afford to fight him and his smug shitheads of a clan right now" He drank it all in one swallow. "We better get moving, we need to get ready for the arrival of Takeshi and all the shits that follow."

"As you say daimyo-sama," bowed Kenji.

The daimyo turned to him with a dull face, "drop that –sama bullshit, we're not in front of the court, keep going and I swear I'll carve out your tongue and feed it to the fish."

Kenji smiled, "As you command."

Kenzo took yet another drink from his beloved beer, and it was like that one drink changed the man, "Ah but lets not be so fucking grim, we can save that for the afternoon," said Kenzo after a pat on his shoulder.

Kenji left for his quarters in the northeast wing of the keep. Sume's Hold it was called, more commonly as Sume. It was erected by a daimyo of the same name some few hundred years ago; he built originally a wooden keep upon ancient rocks on top of a hill with a bailey that quickly turned into a settlement due to the favorable climate, a large presence of tin and silver, and substantial portions of drinking water coming from a huge straight aqueduct that connected to the mountains in the east and ended just in the shores, dripping its water like a gift from nature on a large well; its height was at least three times the size of the keep, the origins are unknown but the common belief is that this is no man made structure. Commerce flowed in and the settlement turned into a large port-town, and the keep itself was replaced with one made of stone. The location was also favorable, built between the sea on the west and the rocky mountains on the east it became a place very difficult to attack.

Kenji could gaze the northern portion of the slums of Old Harbor from his room. He could hear the people overflow the streets and the port, the ships loading cargo, the seagulls and the roar of the sea when its waves crash on the rocks and on the maritime walls of the harbor. Kenji took a breath of air, he liked this place much better than Yamagakure, unlike the latter, this city felt less alien, its buildings were white, with curved roofs and sliding doors, the keep itself had a known founder and resembled a typical samurai castle, the same could not be said of Yama, and much less of the strongholds of Satoi's lot.

Kenji looked at his mirror, contemplating how age was taking hold of him, the once black hair was dark gray with some white spots, his built was leaner than ever, wrinkles would appear from now and then, but his eyes, they could not change at least, green eyes like grass on spring. Eventually his wait on his quarters didn't last long as he figured he could help with preparations.

"Assign guards to their posts by the gates, halls and every dirty little corner you can find, make sure they miss no one, and make sure they find any prying ears lurking in my keep by the time we are discussing matters, I don't want any shitheads meddling," said Kenzo with his shirt still unbuttoned and his belt hanging loose on his waist.

"Should I put a seal?" inquired Kenji.

"Yes, make sure nothing is heard from the outside of the Council Room."

"As you say my lord daimyo," said Kenji with a bow and leaving to do as his daimyo commanded. As he left the Daimyo's quarters he heard him scold one of the servants and demanded a tankard full of beer.

Kenji assumed command of the shinobi in the keep, and after a brief meeting everyone knew what to do and how to do it, he put heavy patrolling on the keep's main gate, on the roofs, on the halls. He asked the help of one of the shinobi specialized in fūinjutsu. They looked in the storage for a sealing suiting their needs.

There was only one last thing that would need to be done. "Put some ANBU on their asses, I want to know if someone is taking a detour, where they're going, to whom they speak, and what they want. I need to know everything," The daimyo was very specific on this last matter.

' _We need to keep an eye on this people, it seems. You can't be too careful.'_ He went to the ANBU department in Old Harbor with the specific orders from the daimyo. It was a hot day and the sun was unforgiving, so Kenji tried to stick to the shadows, that, and because he didn't want to give attention. He walked through alleys where the smell of fresh and recently baked bread filled the air, children would oft play and run by his sides, and the peddlers would make business in the busy streets. He arrived to an eight-story tower at the base of one of the huge robust columns that supported the aqueduct.

"A mission… A-rank. But these… some of these are council members from Yamagakure," said the commander of the ANBU division of Kyonōsu

"These are strict orders from the daimyo, if there's a problem you can confront the daimyo himself," reprimanded Kenji.

The ANBU commander seemed immersed in thought, even with his mask on, Kenji could feel a little hesitation. But it was brief as the ANBU commander bowed with determination, "As the daimyo-sama commands."

Kenji nodded, "Good, pick those best suited for this job, and avoid detection at all costs."

Kenji received another nod in return from the ANBU commander. Good, all was in place, knowing Kenzo he'll receive them first with a lavish feast, enough to burst the stomach. _'I need to return soon, it is almost noon,'_ and with that he returned quickly to the keep to join up with the daimyo and his court.

Once he arrived he passed through the throne room, only to see it packed with people, mostly servants, they were lighting candles, bringing cushions to sit on, bringing large wooden tables to set them in rows parallel to the main gate, _'a feast, and large one it seems, the common room won't be able to hold them all, heh, Kenzo hasn't changed a bit.'_ Hepassed through the crowd of servants and onto his quarters, he replaced his outfit for one more suitable for the occasion, he put on a blue long sleeved kimono with mesh armor underneath, his both katanas on the left side of his waist and the kunai pouch on his right, attached to the belt. Now he could only wait. He did not know if he fell asleep or if he just closed his eyes for a few seconds but there was turmoil around the keep, people shouting orders and running down through the hallways. He went to the daimyo's quarters and found him in a garment of high quality and value; a dark green robe with a black short-sleeved kimono made of linen, and a grey hakama to match. His wife was also present.

"I look like a bloody fool, get off me you ball-less idiot," said Kenzo before dismissing brusquely a servant that was probably helping him dress.

Kenji was amused in the inside, his daimyo was so much different from the other's, and that implicated putting on his head the idea that this is how it works, "It only fits you daimyo-sama, made of the highest quality in the whole country-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, pretty dresses made for damn morons, fuck this I want to tear these things apart and hit somebody!"

His wife, Hayanna-sama, just sighed and look with incredulity to his husband, "If you can't act like a normal husband how can I expect you to behave like a polite and humble ruler, quit your moaning" she said. She was tending to her red hair in a corner; with eyes blue like the sea Kenji would be a fool to say she wasn't beautiful.

"It's common costumes my lord daimyo, I'm sure you will prevail over your dress as you have before," said Kenji with a smile, drawing wrinkles on his cheek.

Kenzo grunted and tried to accommodate to his dress in the mirror, "Ugh I miss my moron son, I wonder how is he doing in Kusagakure, probably doing the same things I did in his age, break bones and fuck girls," he said with a chuckle.

"I'm sure he is doing quite well, he's fine ninja," said Kenji.

"Knowing he inherited the recklessness and fearless attitude of his father he'll get himself killed," said Hayanna. She was worried, what mother could not? "No daimyo's son should be a shinobi."

On the other hand Kenzo just laughed, "You worry too much, if he wants to be a fine and tough ruler, he must learn the hardships of life." Kenzo grunted once more before relaxing his shoulders.

Just then, a servant arrived at the doorstep, "Daimyo-sama, pardon me, the first guests have arrived."

"Who?" Kenzo asked sharply.

"U-uhm, they go with the Ouchi crest," said timidly the servant, "they're almost at the city gates."

"Nūjin arrived early, not surprising," said Kenji.

"Lucky us," said Kenzo.

Nūjin, head of the Ouchi clan, a man so serious, he would put Satoi to shame, his sense of duty surpassing anyone else's. And there he stood, on the gates of the keep, lean, tall and proud, with long blonde hair, short-faced with a stubble shave, the distinctive grey eyes of his clan standing out above all. He scanned the throne room as he entered, accompanied by his clan guard, wearing a black haori with a silver robe below it. He stopped right in front of Kenzo.

"Long time no see Nūjin," said Kenzo serious, even though Nūjin was tall, Kenzo stood over him by some inches.

"You've gotten chubbier," answered Nūjin as he looked Kenzo from feet to the very last hair.

"Occupational hazards, you know, ruling is tough."

"Sure it is you lustful bastard," said Nūjin as they both laughed and greeted each other with a hug. They broke the hug and Nūjin followed to greet with a bow to Hayanna, "My lady Hayanna." And finally Kenji.

"My friend, you look good, you got a few wrinkles there and there but nothing too worrisome," said Nūjin with a smile as they both greeted each other.

"Don't laugh too soon, I can still teach you a thing or two," replied Kenji with a grin.

Nūjin laughed, even a man so serious as him, can be warm-hearted with his close ones.

"Where's your boy Kenzo?" asked Nūjin.

"That brat is still on a mission, I don't expect him to be here until two months or so," said Kenzo as they entered the keep. "And you? Tell me how have you been, where you've been."

"Not taking vacations, my lands, or well, _your_ lands don't rule themselves, guarding the west coast, not a single pirate raid since three years."

Kenzo patted on his back and with a laugh he took them to the common room. Hayanna on his part left to attend to her occupations. They exchanged banters and laughs, like old days.

"I heard your youngest boy is in the Sacred Band, what's up to you? You want Hundred Eyes to break him in pieces?" said Kenzo followed by a chuckle.

Nūjin looked briefly to his feet, "Haru... yes, my youngest boy, he chose it by own will, but not so my own."

"How so?" said Kenji.

"There was a few reasons, he has shown great promise in regards of his abilities and that had to be exploited, many of my clan also believed it would benefit the family and increase our status of having one of our own on the Sacred Band, having hope that he would become shunnin. But there was also a succession issue, my youngest son is far behind the hereditary line."

Kenji and Kenzo understood, Kenji nodded and cleared his throat, "So, to stop any future qualms..."

"Yes. The choice, was far removed from me" Nūjin sighed. The boy's potential was just a cover up.

"You know the possibilities of your son dying? On average, out of two hundred candidates only fifty remain to become Sacred Band shinobi," said Kenzo.

"I know that!" said loudly Nūjin, he relaxed before he continued, "Don't you think I don't have him in my thoughts? He's still young."

There was a brief silence before Nūjin broke it, coldness and formality returned to his voice, he was getting prepared for the arrival of the other guests. "Where is Satoi-san? Is he coming?"

"Hundred Eyes? He ignored the summon, only kami knows what he's doing, I heard he attended a meeting in Yama with their council, and since then, nothing, poof" said Kenzo just as he signaled a servant to bring him some drinks.

Nūjin slighlty clenched his right fist, Kenji knew Satoi isolated in his temple just as his son was enrolled, that was probably worrying Nūjin.

"I don't like this Kenzo, why did you accept Takeshi's request of a council meeting? Who is daimyo, you, or him?" asked Nūjin.

Kenzo hardened his face and leaned forward, "Things are getting rough in this damn country, minor daimyo's and clan heads are at each other's throats, and it has to be _me_ that has to keep them in line; and now we have some idiots on our doorstep, namely Takigakure and this strange Otogakure, that's without saying that Iwa does not like us one bit. Right now Takeshi has managed to control _at least_ half of Yama, he has in his pocket more than five thousand troops, and that's not including Satoi's lot which they are under Yama's jurisdiction, _five thousand_ Nūjin and all of them shinobi, that's a third of our forces!"

'Hyoshi could balance it out but, I don't see him doing it, he has never been a player of the losing side. I need you to understand that we need Takeshi in our side.'

Nūjin looked as he was about to throw up, "Hyoshi, smh, he would put a kunai on your throat if something good came out of it," he said with disgust.

"Nūjin, I wanted Hundred Eyes to come as well, but you and Kenji are my only friends here, the last ones I've got, so I ask you: don't leave me alone with this people."

* * *

Nūjin

Eat and drink, eat and drink, that is all that Kenzo did, for his stomach didn't seem to have a bottom. With all the music, the rushing servants carrying the dishes back and forth to the kitchen and the talking of all the lords that attended, Kenzo's laughter echoed like a boom on a cave.

' _What the hell am I doing here?'_ asked Nūjin to himself in his thoughts, he felt out of place, amongst such toxic company and unnecessary luxury he missed his home, the strong winds that caressed the roofs of his compound, the majestic sound of the waves crashing against islets of black solid rock, the sound of his children playing in the courtyard, the soft skin of his wife… her scent.

He glanced coldly at Takeshi, he was having a few drinks of sake that one of the lords brought at the request of Kenzo, of course with intentions of sharing it at the feast. Takeshi didn't seem all too comfortable as well, and spent much of his time in silence. Nūjin looked to his bodyguards, only two of them, the rest had their own part of the feast in the encampment at the foot of the keep, with the rest of the other lord's personal bodyguard and his own men as well; nevertheless he found himself looking at Ironfist, _'Aoi,'_ ruthless man, charged with handling unrest and hunt brigands or trespassing shinobi; he is known as Takeshi's mad dog, moniker earned by his dreaded reputation of following every command without question and perhaps taking a liking on his own job. At Ironfist's right stood Hideki enjoying a little chat with another lord, untrustworthy man, even more so than the Uesugi and Takeshi, Some of the Yamagakure's council attended it seemed, but Hitoshi was an important absence.

"He wasn't feeling quite well," said Kerouri to him, who was also present, "a fever has taken a strong hold on him,"

"I see, send him my best regards," answered Nūjin with a stern face. This was bad, Hitoshi is an important player, if he is out, there is not much that can stop Takeshi's ambitions.

Kerouri smiled, "I'm sure he'll appreciate your concern."

After some drinks Kerouri analized his face and said to him, "You're not the only one who is worried, Nūjin-san." Nūjin turned to Kerouri, with tense jaw. "There are some of us who know what happens if Hitoshi dies, but there are some that do not know the deceitful nature of Takeshi, he is loved by the people."

"And many of you are ball-less to do anything about it; you are either consumed by fear or you have your loyalty bought."

Kerouri sighed, "You say it harshly, but it is true nonetheless. But I'm sure you remember it well, we were so battered and badly bloodied that we resorted to that man out of necessity."

" _Twice_ , in the Third War and against Aido," said Nūjin.

Kerouri nodded, "But could you really blame us? At least he does what he does for the good of our people, although it his methods that are, well, rather questionable."

"Hanzō did what he did in Amegakure for the good of his people, and look what happens now, a country cut off from the rest of the world, living in poverty and caring nothing about other people's troubles."

"When was the last time we heard of Hanzō?" said Kerouri in a curious tone.

"More time than I can count; there were some rumours that he and Danzō of Konoha had a little talk, they had some troubles with some local group that was on the rise, my guess is that he got paranoid and had them all killed," said Nūjin.

"Power corrupts you," said Kerouri.

Nūjin finished his drink and continued, "That is the road we will go if Takeshi acquires more power, another war is not in this country's best interests."

Kerouri looked to the ground, nodding, "And yet, war is coming, it is only the matter of when and who will be fighting," Kerouri glanced a quick look at Takeshi at his left and then Kenzo to his right, "But I think nevertheless that our daimyo may be in trouble."

Nūjin nodded as he looked over Kerouri's shoulder to see the daimyo drunk and red cheeked. "We will see what happens tomorrow, enjoy the rest of the feast," said Nūjin before leaving Kerouri. He walked past servants and other lords to reach Kenzo, before an all too familiar face bumped into him.

Nūjin acted, as he had not seen him, "Excuse me," he said, as he wanted to walk past by him. But the man in front of him got in the way again.

"You've gotten old Nūjin," said a man in his mid twenties, clean shaved, curly silver hair and blue eyes, donning a white kimono with the three black wolves of Uesugi on the chest. The lack of honorific gave out pretty well who he was. _'Dai.'_

"I thought the Uesugi weren't interested in such activities concerning the country," said Nūjin looking directly to Dai Uesugi in front of him.

"Don't chide us Ouchi, the people's interests are always of our concern and that of my father's," said the son of Hyoshi Uesugi with a smile, he would look charming, but for Nūjin, that smile was venomous. "Sad he didn't come, but he has some other matters to attend to."

Nūjin bit his lip, "Is your father too proud to come here? I'm sure he had the best interests of the people when he left his own token of hospitality the last time he came."

Dai dropped his smug smile, "And you? It must be strange for you, walking past those gates and eating in this very room, but maybe it is your pride that keeps you here and," Dai looked over his shoulder "appreciate such lovely company. What about Satoi? I don't see him, he is even worse than you."

"This very city would make him sick, and rightly so. We don't have short term memory I mind you."

"You're still bitter? What was served to Aido was justice," said Dai.

"Was that what your father was thinking when he gave the order to slaughter everyone? He surely had the best interests of the people in mind," said sarcastically Nūjin.

Dai sighed and clenched his fist for a second, "Sometimes evil things must be done for the greater good, how many more years of war would've lasted, how many innocents would've been killed."

Nūjin almost snorted, "Is that what you tell yourselves when you go to bed? That you were serving justice and saving many more lives? Spare me."

Nūjin walked past Dai, leaving him to his thoughts. He made his way to Kenzo accross a sea of people, he could hear him yelling at one of his servants, as usual. "Don't you know what empty means? Get more!"

"Kenzo, you are quite drunk you should stop this little show," said Nūjin while he grabbed the cup Kenzo was holding and put it back on the table.

"Drunk? How d'you know?" said surprised his drunken friend. "Oh I'm just having a bit of fun, you should try it out sometime, you're tooo... grumpy, heh."

"This isn't any feast, tomorrow is an important day," said Nūjin serious.

Kenzo grumbled, "You're boring at times, d'you know that?"

"Oft times you remind me," said with a smile Nūjin. "But with all the privileges of a daimyo, there are still responsibilities."

"And?" said Kenzo barely lucid.

"And that means that you need to perform as someone of your stature."

Kenzo watched him like a groggy in his seat, "You are starting to sound like your wife." Nūjin watched him deadface, putting pressure with his stare. "Fine, I'll shut up," said Kenzo, reading the mind of Nūjin, "just give me a minute and I'll send all of 'em fuckers to their beds, heh."

The feast winded down, many of the guests were tired and some full of jolly in their bellies, Kenzo on his part didn't do anything to stop the feast but just fell asleep with his right hand still holding a mug with yet some beer left.

Nūjin on his part rested, focused on the day of tomorrow. Sleep came quick, dreamless, the time passed like a blink of an eye. All of a sudden, he felt the soft blanket, the comfortable pillow; he reached out his arm to touch her, envelop her in his arms, but it was nigh as she wasn't there. It took him by surprise for a brief moment, he opened his eyes and saw nothing at his side. _'It seems I haven't left yet'_ he thought. He heard the sea and the seagulls, the sky was turning a lighter blue each second it passed, though the sun still hid behind the mountain. Nūjin sighed and took a shower, the hot water relaxing his muscles. He thought of his son, not the eldest one but the younger. _'Haru.'_ He is strong, full of pride, with a strong and stubborn will, with a desire to see the family up high, but above else, to make him proud. He missed him. He cast out those thoughts. He wore the same fashion as yesterday only this time, he pulled out a silver token and put it on the left side of his haori, just under his chest; the soaring eagle of the Ouchi clan.

The meeting was arranged to be an hour past noon, he had time to relax, maybe take a walk outside the city walls. He stepped on the squishy and humid sand, it felt so soft to him, the sand, the sea, the wind. He gazed the horizon, the wind struck him in the face, making his long hair wave. The waves here were calm, subtle, the sea in his home was powerful, full of anger, its waves lashed out like a lion on his prey.

He closed his eyes for a little while and filled his lungs with sea air.

' _N_ _ūjin-sama..._ _N_ _ūjin-sama'_ Nūjin opened his eyes and found himself back in the keep.

"My lord?" said his bodyguard in front of him, "It is time."

Time flew, and Nūjin did not keep track of it. He nodded to his bodyguard and made his way to the council room.

It's front doors were made of thick timber of oak with iron plates on the borders; Nūjin found ANBU posted at each side of the door.

"My lord, with due respect, the daimyo commanded that no man or woman from the personal bodyguard or clan guard may enter the council room, all security measures inside the room are met."

Nūjin frowned, "I see," but he made no objection and nodded to the rest.

His clan guard understood and left their lord to his own, though reluctantly. _'I hope the men you have inside are indeed your men, Kenzo.'_

The room was circular, there were barely any windows save for those on the roof which had a dome like appearance. He only saw four ANBU at each side of the room, equidistant from each other, but Nūjin was sure there was a lot more who didn't want to be seen, they could be camouflaged in the tall roof, under the floor, there many places for them to hide.

The table was round, like the room, with numerous seats around it, with one in particular for the daimyo. Many lords were already present, Kenzo included. He looked a bit hangover, but nothing too serious, that man had a natural resilience for alcohol.

Nūjin took the courtesy to greet some of the people in the room, and took a seat close to Kenzo. After a while, people went in until all seats were occupied, just then, Kenji entered the room and locked the main door and stood watch just beside it.

Kenzo stood up with a voice full of authority, "Lords and ladies of Yama no kuni; you've been summoned here in an event that has not happened since the war against Aido. We've met at the request of Takeshi-san to answer the threat that lies in the west. For too long we have been divided and if we don't change this course, what we all fear, may happen. You have the word, Takeshi."

"Thank you, daimyo-sama," said Takeshi, just as he stood up. "My fellow countrymen, many of us met for the first time when the hand of Iwa was standing above our heads with the intent on crushing them. When the war was over, we feared that they may come again with greater force and fury. That threat, has once again, become very real; we stand on the brink of destruction, if we don't unite, we will all share the same fate."

"Iwa," snorted the head of clan Gyūkki, "Iwa stands isolated since they lost the war, what leads you to believe this?"

"You may not have dealt with this issue but I have, after all, Yama is assigned as warden of the Rift and the provinces south of it," replied Takeshi. "Everything that happens on the borders reaches our ears."

"And what may that be?" said Dai Uesugi.

"Skirmishes, with shinobi from Takigakure."

Mumbling started between all the lords. Kenzo leaned forward with a frown, "Taki? Skirmishes? I knew things were tense, but your reports never mentioned skirmishes."

"My lord daimyo, the information was confidential for the sake of not reaching to the public, I am sorry but precautions were just being met," said Kerouri.

"And where does Iwa fit in all of this?" asked Nūjin with an icy tone.

Takeshi returned the disdain with his look. "Iwa has been feeding information and lending equipment to Taki with the approval of the daimyo of Tsuchi no kuni, the influence and constant presence of Iwa shinobi there is also worrying, not to mention that their leader is a young boy and easily moved."

"What now? Taki is now a satellite of Iwa?" said Kenzo annoyed.

"It is a satellite state, daimyo-sama," said Takeshi

Mira, the head of clan Menyuki of the east, said, "Then what do you propose, Takeshi-dono?"

Takeshi's face darkened, "A preemptive strike."

Dai chuckled, "You must be out of your mind, what if Iwa is guaranteeing the independence of Taki? We don't have the strength to fight both of them at once, not even with the weird lot of Satoi."

Hideki cleared his throat, "Iwa won't honor the agreement."

"How do you know?"

"Iwa is on a thin line if it thinks they can control Taki and occupy our country without disrupting the balance between the five powers, Konoha and Suna would both join the fight to control its aggressiveness."

Nūjin raised his voice, "What we need less is another war, if you are wrong, what will it happen to our people? How many innocents must die?"

The head of clan Gyūkki supported Nūjin's thoughts, that brought comfort to Nūjin, "I agree with lord Ouchi, tell me Takeshi-dono, what do you want? How can we trust on the reliability of this information," he inquired.

"What I want? This is about the future of the people, we will not become a bloodbath like Amegakure. You tell me about reliability when you can't even figure out the disappearances and strange rumors in the Mountains' Graveyard" (2)

"Stop!" said loudly Kenzo, "That is off topic!"

"Daimyo-sama, do you remember about Kagerō's village (3)?" asked Takeshi.

"Of course I have, I'm not easy to forget," said Kenzo agitated, almost red-faced.

"The people cry out for justice since that tragedy."

The room stayed quiet as Kenzo made up his mind, his fingers impatient on the table. "What else?" asked Kenzo.

Hideki caressed his pointy beard and said, "Our exports to Kusagakure and Suna are not reaching its destination, and their route just goes through Taki, same goes for imports. Economically speaking, it is bad."

Kenzo was screeching his teeth. "How do we fare against them?"

"Reports say that they have five thousand shinobi and potentially ten thousand ashigaru and a Jinchūriki, while we have over eight thousand shinobi and ten thousand ashigaru at minimum, it depends how many each of you are willing to give," said Takeshi.

"How the hell will we deal with a Jinchūriki?"

"It is too early to say, but I may have the solution,"

"Which is?"

"In due time I'll inform you, I promise my lord daimyo."

Kenzo sighed, "Very well, after a while I made up my mind."

All were expectant, Nūjin's heart began to beat rapidly. It was a decision that meant peace or war.

"I'll call a convention with Taki, we can sort this out without bloodshed," said Kenzo.

Nūjin felt relieved and caught glimpse of Takeshi's fist clenching tightly.

"Daimyo-sama," said Takeshi, probably a last ditch attempt.

"I'll hear no more of it, this is my final decision," said Kenzo as he got up.

"We should issue an early mobilization, if the convention fails, we need not to find ourselves with our pants down," said Takeshi.

Many of the lords nodded and gave sign of the approval of that proposal, "And with plans to further it into a partial mobilization."

Kenzo and Nūjin did not expect to have that proposal gain so much acceptance. Kenzo did not have a choice but to accept with a nod.

The council was over, but Kenzo still had something to discuss. "Nūjin, my friend, follow me," Nūjin obeyed without question, "Kenji, you too," Kenji was a bit dumbfounded but followed the daimyo.

' _What's this about?'_ he felt morbid curiosity. Kenzo did not look to be in the mood to talk about the outcome of the meeting, this was maybe something else.

Kenzo watched him with a frown upon his eyes and a pulled a piece of parchment from his pockets. Nūjin knew that look, calamity, something happened.

They entered to his private quarters, Hayanna was not there, probably looking at trinckets in the harbor.

"What's going on Kenzo?" asked Nūjin, the air suddenly felt strange, suffocating.

"They killed them, every single one of them," said Kenzo licking his lips.

"Who?" asked Nūjin. Judging by Kenzo's tone, it would likely have consequences in the future.

"The clan Uchiha," said Kenzo. Nūjin felt a chill on his spine. He did not know what to say at first, the Uchiha? It was surely a jest.

"The Uchiha? Kenzo are you sure you are not still drunk?"

"Of course I'm not drunk!" said loudly and hoarsely Kenzo. "Here, you can read it if you like, I got this from one of my men in the Fire Country. The raven arrived in the middle of the night." Kenzo extended the piece of paper to Nūjin. Now he could not believe it, as he read the report in his entirety he felt a chill run down to his spine. This will become a scandal, one that is likely to spread to the other nations. As he was close to finish reading, the eyes of Nūjin opened in surprise at the supposed culprit.

"Itachi... Uchiha?" said Nūjin in disbelief. One of their own. What could drive a man to do a thing such as this? The Uesugi were rats, that's for sure, but they at least took care of their own. This was one massive kinslaying.

"Aye, he killed any man, woman and child standing in his way, and yet look who left behind, a little child, seven years of age," said Kenzo.

Nūjin sat in front of both his friends. His hands felt cold, _'Seven?'_ that was only one year younger than Haru. "What kind of man could slaughter his own family and leave a little child to tell the tale?" said Nūjin agitated, dreading that something like that could fall on his family. This was all too dismal and sinister.

"I don't know but, Nūjin-san, if you wondered if there was someone worse than Hyoshi or Takeshi, this is the man," said with a calm composture Kenji.

Kenzo left out a little snort, "It won't be long before he is put on the bingo book, S ranked criminal I bet, the son of a bitch will be hunted down."

"The child, who was it?" asked Nūjin.

Kenji read the paper and cleared his throat, "The paper mentions Fugaku Uchiha's youngest son."

"Therefore Itachi's brother I assume?"

Kenji nodded, "Atrocious, no man is as accursed now as Itachi Uchiha."

"Itachi the Kinslayer is what he is," said Kenzo.

"Why are you telling me this privately Kenzo?" asked Nūjin.

Kenzo looked to the terrace, watching as the sky turned darker, "The flies and jackals will soon arrive to feast on a corpse, they will argue and fight for it. I'll have no part in it, but there are some here who will," he sounded stressed. Nūjin could understand the pressure that weighed over his friend's shoulder, after today what could he feel? But nevertheless Kenzo always finds a way to lighten up. "You should have taken the mantle of leading this nation, not me, why me?"

Nūjin did not know how to feel, he never wanted power, he only did what was asked of him, the power he was bestown with, came only by a need, not a desire. He knew those moments of stress of wanting to go away and never come back, but it was his duty and he would fulfill his duty.

"Kenzo, we have made many mistakes in our lives, but you taking the mantle of daimyo is not one of them, you are a good and honest man with the well being of the people in mind, you avoid further bloodshed and there are few like you my friend, so don't ever regret having this kind of power. What other man could have done in that meeting? You're admirable, a fool sometimes, but an admirable fool."

Kenzo smiled, and put his hand on Nūjin's shoulder. "You've never been of those that lighten up the day... you're shit at it you know?"

Nūjin smiled, "I've never put much effort in that."

They both shared a laugh.

* * *

(1) It literally translates to "capital in the north". Not very imaginative but hey its hard to make up names in japanese.

(2) Oh boy, what could it be? ;)

(3) In the anime, there was a filler about a man from this village that was located in this country. Long story short, the village was burnt down by Takigakure shinobi and all its population killed, save for this man. (This doesn't mean I will include many fillers, only those who suit my needs and my plot.)

I recently watched Netflix's Marco Polo and I was stunned that a character was called Hundred-Eyes, I thought it was funny, my fav character in that series. However both characters are very different from one another, and all coincidences are just that, coincidences.

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